Limit the data Facebook shares about you or your friends via websites, games, or apps.
Security audits are an annoying but necessary part of online life. Hacks big and small have compromised the data of countless internet users, so it’s up to you to make sure social networks and apps aren’t scraping more data than they should.
Here are a few steps you can take to prevent Facebook from sharing your personal data:
- Review your privacy settings: Go to the settings menu on your Facebook account and review your privacy settings. Adjust them to your liking and make sure you understand what information is being shared and with whom.
- Control the apps that can access your data: Go to the settings menu and click on “Apps and Websites.” Review the apps that have access to your Facebook data and remove any that you don’t trust or no longer use.
- Limit the data you share: Be mindful of the information you share on Facebook, such as your location, contact information, and personal details. Consider limiting the amount of personal information you share on the platform.
- Be selective about who you accept friend requests from: Be wary of accepting friend requests from people you don’t know, as they may use your personal information for malicious purposes.
- Use Facebook’s Ad Preferences: You can control the ads you see on Facebook by visiting the “Ad Preferences” page. From there, you can remove interests and advertisers, which will prevent them from showing you targeted ads.
- Use browser add-ons to block tracking: There are browser add-ons available that can block Facebook from tracking your browsing activity on other websites.
- Use a VPN to hide your IP address: A VPN (Virtual Private Network) will encrypt your internet connection, making it more difficult for Facebook to track your location and browsing activity.
- Leave the platform: If you are not comfortable with the amount of personal data Facebook collects, you can always deactivate or delete your account.
Remember, the only true way to have full freedom from the tracking and privacy invasions from Facebook is to never have an account. The next best thing you can do is delete your account (don’t just deactivate it). Also delete your Instagram and WhatsApp accounts; Meta owns them, too.
