This really isn’t news to anyone who has read anything about online privacy. I’m really happy articles like these are being written for the general public, though! The movie The Social Dilemma is my favorite starting point for understanding these issues, it’s a dramatized explanation of online tracking and user manipulation. That movie, and articles like this one, are the tip of an iceberg.
Share these things with your neighbors and friends! The FTC is finally suing Facebook to break up their monopoly, the more people that are made aware of what these tech companies are doing the more likely things are to change.
I deleted my Facebook account last year. I made a post saying “We don’t talk to each other here anyway. Email me or call me if you want to get in touch.” I just kept trying flooded with distant relatives with unsavoury political views.
I still have a Facebook account but I don’t use it. If someone sends me a message there, he gets an automatic Messenger message about where I can be contacted on other platforms, thanks to Watomatic. So the account only functions as an “introducer” to how to contact me elsewhere. I have also blocked Facebook’s trackers and beacons with my ad blocker.
That’s fair.
I almost had to recreate one myself because of my work requiring some dev work for them. I’m pleased to see there’s something I could use in the future to forward them on.
A few simple tips:
On Windows/Mac/Linux: Use Firefox with the Facebook container addon - https://www.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/facebookcontainer/ - it will block Facebook from tracking you across the web.
If you use Android, install TrackerControl to block any Facebook, Google, etc, trackers that may be built-into apps you install.
Install Signal to ensure your communcation AND metadata is safe from prying eyes.
Delete Whatsapp.
Done.
It’s not perfect as they can still gather data on you via family/friends, but it hampers their ability significantly to make a profit off of spying on you.
