Facebook is collecting your data even when you’re not using it – here’s what it gets

Facebook collects data even when you’re not using the app, says the social media giant.

In a blog post entitled ‘What Data Does Facebook Collect When I’m not Using Facebook, and Why?’, Product Management Director David Baser says those who have certain apps are especially susceptible

He writes:

When you visit a site or app that uses our services, we receive information even if you’re logged out or don’t have a Facebook account. This is because other apps and sites don’t know who is using Facebook.

So what sort of data can Facebook collect in this way?

• Your computer’s IP address
• The type of browser you’re using when you access the internet
• The type of software you're computer runs on (Mac OS, Android, Windows etc)

Baser insists that Facebook isn’t the only company to operate in this manner.

Many companies offer these types of services and, like Facebook, they also get information from the apps and sites that use them. Twitter, Pinterest and LinkedIn all have similar Like and Share buttons to help people share things on their services. Google has a popular analytics service. And Amazon, Google and Twitter all offer login features. These companies — and many others — also offer advertising services. In fact, most websites and apps send the same information to multiple companies each time you visit them.

Baser adds that though Facebook collects this information, it doesn’t sell your data and only uses it to better curate content specifically for its different users.

The push for transparency comes in the wake of whistle-blower Christopher Wylie’s accusations that Cambridge Analytica harvested data of millions of Facebook users, which may have affected the outcome of the US election and Brexit.

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