Understanding Facebook’s Data Collection Practices: Insights from Lock and Code S06E11

This week on the Lock and Code podcast, we delve into the extensive data that Facebook collects about its users.

In an effort to enhance transparency, Facebook introduced an online portal in 2020, enabling users to access their historical data and request specific information for download over custom time frames. Users can easily retrieve insights such as the total number of posts made, a compilation of uploaded photos, a log of every video viewed, devices used for login, significant changes to account settings, as well as records of birthday tags and friend requests—whether sent, received, accepted, or ignored.

While it’s informative to review what Facebook knows about an individual solely based on their engagement on the platform, this perspective provides limited insight. Users are generally aware of their own social media interactions, friendships, and contributions.

The more profound revelations come from understanding how Facebook gathers data about users from external sources beyond the platform itself.

Surprisingly, Facebook accumulates vast amounts of information about users’ behaviors even when they are not accessing the site, including instances where the Facebook app is not installed on their mobile devices. As reported by Geoffrey Fowler of The Washington Post, users can find that Facebook receives notifications from various applications and websites they engage with. For instance, interactions on shopping platforms or even other unrelated apps may feed data back to Facebook, thereby influencing the targeted advertisements and content presented to users.

In the latest episode of the Lock and Code podcast, host David Ruiz explores his own Facebook data, uncovering a range of insights about how the platform encodes information collected from third-party businesses. Ruiz discovers that his article views, wish list items, and purchases from various retailers have made their way into Facebook’s complex database.

To gain a deeper understanding of this topic, tune into the full episode today.