Facebook collects a significant amount of personal information from its users. This includes information provided directly by users, such as name, contact information, interests, photos and videos. It also includes information collected from user activity on Facebook, as well as information obtained from third party sources.
With over 2.8 billion monthly active users worldwide, Facebook holds a vast trove of user data. Naturally, this raises questions around how this data is used and who has access to it. Many users wonder how private and confidential their personal information really is on Facebook.
What types of personal information does Facebook collect?
Facebook collects a wide variety of personal information from its users. Some of the main categories include:
- Identity information – name, contact info, date of birth, gender
- Networks – friends, followers, groups
- Interests and activities – pages liked, events, searches, browsing history
- Photos and videos – user generated content as well as metadata
- Device and connection information – IP address, device identifiers, connection type
- Location information – based on IP address, GPS, wifi networks
- Purchase and payment information – for transactions on Facebook
- Facial recognition data – from photos and videos to identify people
In addition, when users interact with third-party apps, websites and services that use Facebook tools, data from those interactions may be shared back with Facebook.
How does Facebook use this personal information?
Facebook uses the personal information it collects for a variety of purposes including:
- Providing and improving services – develop new features, fix bugs, conduct research
- Showing relevant ads – target ads based on factors like age, location, interests
- Measuring performance – analyze user engagement, trends, demographics
- Enhancing security – detect malicious activity, prevent spam and abuse
- Communicating with users – customer support, notifications, messages
- Research and innovation – create new technologies and services
User data allows Facebook to optimize the user experience and carry out critical functions. However, the company has faced criticism over lack of transparency and misuse of data.
Who can access your Facebook personal information?
When users sign up for Facebook, they agree to the company’s Data Policy which governs how user information is shared. Here are some of the main categories that may access Facebook user data:
Facebook employees
Facebook employees may handle user data as part of their job responsibilities such as providing customer support, analyzing data, fixing bugs and developing new products and features.
External parties and service providers
Facebook may share information with third party companies that provide services such as website hosting, data analysis, customer support, marketing and more. These companies must adhere to strict confidentiality obligations.
Advertising partners
Facebook provides aggregated event attendance and demographic data to third party advertisers to help them reach customers. Individual user data is not shared without consent.
External apps and websites
User data may be shared with apps and websites that utilize Facebook tools and services. Users consent to this access when logging in with Facebook or interacting with these third parties.
Law enforcement
Facebook may provide user information to law enforcement agencies in response to legal requests like subpoenas, search warrants, court orders and national security requests.
Public profile information
Profile information users choose to make public is visible to anyone on or off Facebook. Public information may also be indexed by search engines.
How does Facebook secure user data?
Facebook utilizes a variety of security measures to protect user data including:
- Encryption – data is encrypted in transit and some types like passwords are encrypted in storage
- Network security – firewalls, intrusion detection systems, endpoint security solutions
- Operational controls – background checks on employees, need-to-know data access
- Software controls – rate limiting, input validation, authentication mechanisms
- Audits – regular third party audits on security practices
- Bug bounty program – rewards researchers for finding vulnerabilities
However, despite these precautions Facebook has suffered breaches including accessing over 50 million accounts in 2018.
How can users control the information Facebook collects?
Facebook provides users with various settings to control how their information is collected and shared:
Ads preferences
Users can remove interests that were inferred from profile information and set whether sensitive categories like ethnicity or health are used to show ads.
Apps and websites
The Off-Facebook Activity tool shows which websites and apps are sending data to Facebook and lets users disconnect them.
Activity logs
Logs allow downloading the data Facebook collects about users including ads clicked, searches made, events attended and more.
Facial recognition
Users can opt out of facial recognition features that identify them in photos, videos and camera effects.
Privacy checkup
A centralized hub to review and adjust all privacy and security settings. Settings include ad preferences, public profile visibility, app permissions and more.
Conclusion
Facebook collects extensive personal information about its users in order to optimize services, show relevant content and ads, and enhance the user experience. While Facebook does employ privacy controls and security measures, users have limited visibility into how their data is handled. Facebook’s practice of sharing data with external parties has also raised concerns about confidentiality. The 2018 Cambridge Analytica scandal highlighted that user data can be misused. Overall, users must weigh the benefits of Facebook’s services against limitations on personal data confidentiality. While Facebook promises to safeguard user privacy, ultimately their business model depends on collecting, analyzing and monetizing user information.
| Personal Information Type | Collection Method | Use |
|---|---|---|
| Identity info (name, age, gender, etc.) | Provided by users at signup | To customize and optimize user experience |
| Contact info (email, phone, address) | Provided by users in profile | For communications and notifications |
| Networks and connections | User friend connections and follows | To make suggestions and display relevant content |
| Interests and activities | Pages liked, groups joined, events attended | To target relevant ads |
| Photos and videos | User posts and shares | To personalize experience and train AI systems |
| Device and connection data | Extracted from user devices and activity | For security, analytics and optimizations |
| Location information | From IP address, GPS and wifi signals | To provide relevant local info and ads |
| Purchases and payments | From transactions on Facebook | To provide purchase history and receipts |
| Facial recognition data | From photos and videos | To tag people and enhance security |
| Who can access your data | Type of data access |
|---|---|
| Facebook employees | As needed to perform job functions like engineering, marketing, research, security, etc. |
| External service providers | Limited data to provide contracted services like ad delivery, analytics, customer support, etc. |
| Advertising partners | Aggregated data about demographics, interests, events and ad performance. Not individual profiles. |
| Linked apps and websites | Profile info users consent to when logging in with Facebook or interacting with these third parties. |
| Law enforcement | Limited data in response to legal orders and national security requests. |
| Public profile info | Name, profile photo and cover photo, gender, networks, username and User ID. Info users designate as public. |
| Control Setting | What it controls |
|---|---|
| Ads preferences | What interests and sensitive profile info Facebook can use to target ads |
| Off-Facebook activity | Disconnecting website and app data collection tracked by Facebook |
| Activity log | Downloading a file of data Facebook collects about your activity |
| Facial recognition | Whether Facebook can identify you in photos, videos and camera effects |
| Privacy checkup | Reviewing all privacy and security settings in one dashboard |