Facebook" Download a copy of your data

Post by **High Lord Tolkien** » Tue Mar 27, 2018 2:39 pm

So I followed these directions: https://www.iol.co.za/business-report/t ... u-14113161 and downloaded the zip of my FB data.
It was only 45MB and just contained the pics and videos I uploaded and all the FB messages I sent.
I'm not seeing any saved phone text messages.

Why are people freaking out? What am I missing?

Post by **wayfriend** » Tue Mar 27, 2018 4:51 pm

https://fieldguide.gizmodo.com/all-the- ... 1795604150

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/03/20/tech ... model.html

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/06/us/p ... ytica.html -- this predates the recent facebook news.

I suggest reading those completely.

Post by **High Lord Tolkien** » Tue Mar 27, 2018 6:04 pm

Thanks Wayfriend. I just did.
I guess I don't use FB or even browse the web like most others do.
Are Ads on webpages legitimate now?

when did that happen?
I'm still expecting to get a virus if I click on any of them!

Post by **Skyweir** » Tue Mar 27, 2018 6:28 pm

I use Facebook regularly. Are we concerned just with ads .. meh I play words with friends and have aps in my phone that come with ads.

Using my personal data for business marketing purposes is an affront but I suppose we consented to that when we signed up.

I suppose Ill have to read those links but virus risk makes me hesitant

Post by **High Lord Tolkien** » Tue Mar 27, 2018 7:20 pm

What I've been seeing the most outrage in the Twitter-verse is cell phone call and texting records being saved in your FB settings. So if you have the FB app installed on your cell it's capturing all that too.

I have the app but I didn't see any cell phone info when I downloaded my FB data today.
I did see information about every phone I've used, I think. Even a Blackberry! But I don't know if that was my Blackberry or someone I was talking to.

Post by **Skyweir** » Tue Mar 27, 2018 7:41 pm

mmm..

Post by **wayfriend** » Tue Mar 27, 2018 8:27 pm

FYI: this "download" is not *everything* FB knows about you.

For example, it collects information about everything you have ever Liked, and even every web page you have ever visited that has a Like button on it (even if you never clicked it).

This download is probably, however, everything you've explicitly permitted them to directly save. What they collect through other means they will not provide you, as they do not need your permission to collect it. And it's probably abbreviated as well.

Remember, this a cover-their-a$$ gesture by Facebook to create an appearance of transparency. Place as much trust in it as you trust any other person to voluntarily tell you what they've been doing.

Post by **Avatar** » Wed Mar 28, 2018 4:21 am

Wait, you still don't click on ads because of viruses?

My online marketing department will have a fit.

Personally I use a killer ad blocker, so I never see ads. I'm constantly shocked at what the web looks like when I use somebody else's browser.

Ads are pretty much totally legit these days. To get a virus from clicking on an ad (assuming you're on legit sites) would be pretty damn unlikely.

The whole FB thing, in short, is that all sorts of apps might be collecting data about you (mostly so that people can better target you for relevant ads), which you may have opted into without realising.

Largely depends on what apps you have given access to your FB.

Personally I'm not on FB at all, for reasons like that among others, so not an issue for me.

--A

Post by **High Lord Tolkien** » Wed Mar 28, 2018 7:14 pm

Avatar wrote:Wait, you still don't click on ads because of viruses? My online marketing department will have a fit.

--A

Never have and never will.

Playboy, Tesla and SpaceX all pulled out of FB.

I just used "pulled out" and "Playboy" in a sentence and it wasn't naughty.

Post by **Avatar** » Thu Mar 29, 2018 5:46 am

Yeah, just a blip in FB's ad revenue really...they don't care. Same as Google.

--A

Post by **Skyweir** » Fri Mar 30, 2018 2:53 am

So Tuesday then

Post by **High Lord Tolkien** » Fri Mar 30, 2018 1:57 pm

I just looked at what Google has stored for me.....damn, wtf?

bgr.com/2015/04/21/how-to-download-google-search-guide/

How does it link the search history with me though? Because I logged into my gmail account first before browsing? So if I log out of gmail there's no browsing history saved after that?

Post by **wayfriend** » Fri Mar 30, 2018 2:14 pm

HLT,

Once Google (or any other web platform) learns your IP address, it's pretty much impossible to hide. Your ISP probably does a very good job of making sure you get the same one every time you're online ... for this reason.

And then there's cookies. And super cookies.

You have to realize that these guys have spent literally billions of dollars and decades of research to track you, and everyone from your browser maker to your operating system to your ISP to your internet backbone are eagerly cooperating. It's built into the entire infrastructure of the internet. They are very good at it now.

Post by **High Lord Tolkien** » Fri Mar 30, 2018 4:52 pm

I know, I know.... But I never really thought about before now though, and I'm in the IT field.

But what surprised me is that it had my browsing history that I did on my phone, work and home computers yesterday. I don't even use Gmail on my phone. What is it using to connect me to my phone browsing? probably an app that I used my gmail account with?

Post by **wayfriend** » Fri Mar 30, 2018 5:09 pm

The phone I can see. If your phone is Android then Google owns it. Even if not, it's a personal device, so once you use GMail, you've associated it with you.

The work computer is more of a mystery. I don't doubt they did it, but I cannot imagine how.

Post by **samrw3** » Fri Mar 30, 2018 6:44 pm

wayfriend wrote: The work computer is more of a mystery. I don't doubt they did it, but I cannot imagine how.

Possibly if you log into something personal on a work computer- like log into your gmail account on work computer? *Shrugs* I don't know either but that seems like a decent possibility

Post by **wayfriend** » Fri Mar 30, 2018 8:39 pm

15 Ways Google Tracks You

Post by **Avatar** » Sat Mar 31, 2018 8:01 am

High Lord Tolkien wrote:How does it link the search history with me though? Because I logged into my gmail account first before browsing? So if I log out of gmail there's no browsing history saved after that?

Well, yes for the most part. It's associated with you because you're logged into your gmail.

Logging out doesn't mean nothing is tracked, but it's not explicitly linked to your account.

As WF points out, cookies store a lot of data too, but the key to personal history (which exists because of the personalisation of search) is the association with a specific Google account.

To avoid all of that you want to only browse logged out, and you want to clear your cookies after every session. (No saved passwords for you, or site preferences or anything like that.) Then there are the so-called flash- and super-cookies, that clearing doesn't get rid of. You need a specialised program to delete them.

Also, anything you've ever logged into with your Google or FB account, or any app you've ever given access to those accounts will add to the totality of data collected on you.

(And hey, if that's not enough, your own computer keeps a record of every folder you've ever created and / or opened on it (and when) since the day you turned it on, even if that folder later gets deleted. Check this tool: Shellbag Analyzer)

--A

Post by **Skyweir** » Sun Apr 22, 2018 2:55 pm

... such good info .. kudos IT saavy human

Post by **Damelon** » Sun May 06, 2018 12:19 pm

By this time, I figure they're going to find what they find. I did take the opportunity to go through the apps attached to FB and delete the ones that were particularly prying of location and habit. Funny that most of them were of the "What greek god would you be?, type of quiz.".

A few months ago, I felt like I was spending too much time there, so I removed the app from my phone. FB noticed within 24 hours, by sending me emails telling me what I've been missing.

I don't see why everyone is so surprised that all kinds of sometimes shady entities are gathering information on users. They don't offer those political quizzes for our benefit to sell the results to someone else. If the information that they freely get from us winds up in Trump's (or Hillary or Putin's hands) it's really the users fault.

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Facebook" Download a copy of your data

Facebook" Download a copy of your data