Facebook and Yahoo are two of the biggest and most influential internet companies in the world. With over 2 billion monthly active users, Facebook dominates social media and is one of the most visited websites globally. Yahoo, while not as dominant as it once was in the 1990s and early 2000s, still operates popular web services like Yahoo Mail, Yahoo Search, Yahoo Finance, and more.
Given the massive user bases and internet presence of both companies, it is natural to wonder if Facebook and Yahoo work together in any capacity. Do they share technologies, data, or partnerships? Are they competitors or collaborators? Understanding the relationship between these internet giants provides useful insight into the world of social media, web search, online advertising, and more.
Do Facebook and Yahoo share user data?
One key area of interest is whether Facebook and Yahoo share or access each other’s user data. Protecting user privacy is crucial for any technology company, and users want to understand how their personal information may be shared across platforms.
The short answer is no – there is no evidence that Facebook and Yahoo share user data or have access to each other’s user databases. Facebook likely has data only on users who actively use their platform and services, while Yahoo would have data only on Yahoo users.
Facebook has faced scrutiny in the past for its data sharing policies with third parties like Cambridge Analytica. However, there have been no high profile cases or allegations around Facebook sharing user data specifically with Yahoo. Similarly, Yahoo has not been known to share its users’ personal information with Facebook.
Third party tracking and cookies
However, there are some ways that Facebook and Yahoo could have access to some data about each other’s users, via third party tracking methods:
- Cookies: Both Facebook and Yahoo use third party cookies and pixels that could allow some cross-referencing of data.
- Advertiser data: If a user sees the same ad campaign on Facebook and Yahoo, advertisers may be collecting data across sites.
- Partnerships: Facebook and Yahoo may have some technical partnerships that involve minor data sharing.
However, this potential data access is usually only done in anonymized or aggregate forms, not connected to individual user profiles. Overall, while third party trackers connect many sites on the internet, there is no reason to believe Facebook and Yahoo have any special data sharing agreement.
Are Facebook and Yahoo business partners?
Beyond data sharing, do Facebook and Yahoo have any formal business partnerships leveraging each other’s services, products, or technologies?
The answer appears to be no – Facebook and Yahoo operate independently and do not have major public partnerships. However, there are some minor connections:
- Users can share content from Yahoo such as articles or videos to Facebook, increasing Yahoo’s content reach.
- Facebook login can be used to sign into some Yahoo services like Yahoo Fantasy Sports, easing registration.
- Yahoo runs Facebook advertising campaigns to promote its products and sites.
- There are likely some backend technical integrations powering cross-site sharing.
However, these types of connections are common across most major internet sites and do not indicate a special formal partnership. For example, Google login can also be used on Yahoo. Overall, the two companies appear to run their main businesses separately without major collaboration.
Do Yahoo and Facebook have a content syndication agreement?
Another area of potential partnership would be content syndication, where Yahoo could display Facebook content like posts, videos, or photos on its own sites to enhance its offerings. Or vice versa, with Facebook hosting Yahoo content.
However, there is again no evidence of any formal content syndication deal between the two companies. Yahoo does not have special access to source material from Facebook to display on its sites. This contrasts with partnerships like the Facebook Instant Articles program, where certain publishers can show Facebook-hosted versions of their articles directly on Facebook.
In summary, while users can easily share content from Yahoo to Facebook, there is no two-way content syndication agreement in place. The two companies maintain separate content ecosystems.
Do Yahoo and Facebook compete directly in any areas?
Although Yahoo and Facebook do not appear to have close partnerships, they do find themselves competing in some internet business sectors:
Digital advertising
Both Yahoo and Facebook rely heavily on digital advertising revenue on their free-to-use sites. They compete vigorously for advertising dollars from businesses looking to reach consumers online. In this realm, Facebook has grown to hold a commanding lead and market share.
Video sharing
Facebook Video and Yahoo Video both host user-generated and professional short form video content. They vie for viewers and ad revenue on their respective video platforms. Again, Facebook Video has become the much larger player in recent years.
Web portals
Yahoo has operated one of the main web portal sites that users start their internet journeys from, offering email, search, news, and more. Facebook has emerged as an alternative home base and core daily destination for many online users.
Messaging
Facebook Messenger competes with Yahoo Messenger as a way for people to communicate in real time over the internet. Yahoo Messenger had an early lead, but Facebook has dominated personal messaging in recent years.
So in these core areas, the two tech giants find themselves as competitors working to advance their own offerings rather than collaborators. Their financial interests are not closely aligned. However, the competitive balance has shifted over time in Facebook’s favor in most categories.
Conclusion
In summary, while Facebook and Yahoo are two of the biggest names in tech and the internet, they operate as independent companies without clear partnerships spanning data sharing, business operations, or content. Some minor integrations exist, but no major strategic alliances. And in areas like digital advertising and video sharing, they compete far more than they collaborate as each tries to grow their own user base and revenue. Their relationship is characterized by independence rather than integration. But Facebook has emerged as the leader in most realms where they overlap.
| Category | Relationship |
|---|---|
| User data sharing | No evidence of direct data sharing |
| Business partnerships | No major public partnerships |
| Content syndication | No formal syndication agreement |
| Key competitions | Digital advertising, video sharing, web portals, messaging |
Sources
- Facebook Newsroom: Platform Partnerships – https://about.fb.com/news/category/platform-partnerships/
- Yahoo Privacy Policy – https://www.verizonmedia.com/policies/us/en/verizonmedia/privacy/index.html
- Facebook Instant Articles – https://instantarticles.fb.com/
- Yahoo Terms of Service – https://legal.yahoo.com/us/en/yahoo/terms/otos/index.html