Facebook is trying to demystify the ways in which it tracks people when they aren't directly using the website or app.The company on Monday published a blog post that outlined its data collection practices less than a week after Mark Zuckerberg testified about his company in front of Congress. The CEO at the time promised to follow up on questions he couldn't answer on the spot.
The blog was written by product management director David Baser, it was mainly about third-party websites and apps that send data about their users to Facebook, regardless of whether those users have Facebook profiles.
In return for that information, Facebook helps those websites serve up relevant ads or receive analytics that help them understand how people use their services. The company gets this data from websites and apps that let people share or like posts using Facebook plugins, or log into the website with their Facebook accounts. Sites that use Facebook advertising or analytics tools also share data.Facebook also says it uses the data to improve its own ads and identify bots and bad actors.
According to Facebook, the information it receives can include the name of the website or app, your IP address, your browser, what operating system you use and whether you've visited the third-party site before.Facebook says it can match that data to a Facebook profile, if the person has one. If not, the company claims the data does not get used to create a profile.
Zuckerberg said during testimony last week that the company collects data about people who have not signed up for Facebook "for security purposes." That statement raised concerns about whether the company has "shadow profiles" with information about non-users.Facebook told CNNMoney late Monday that it does not have "shadow profiles."Related: Congress grilled Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg for nearly 10 hours. What's next?
Baser's post notably calls out other companies that it says do similar things. While Facebook has been getting the brunt of the recent outrage over its data collection and privacy practices, some methods are industry standard.
The blog post also reviews the types of controls people with Facebook accounts have over their data. For example, users can opt out of ads or delete their profiles.
Here's some facts you need to know about:
When does Facebook get data about people from other websites and apps?
Many websites and apps use Facebook services to make their content and ads more engaging and relevant. These services include:Social plugins, such as our Like and Share buttons, which make other sites more social and help you share content on Facebook;
Facebook Login, which lets you use your Facebook account to log into another website or app;
Facebook Analytics, which helps websites and apps better understand how people use their services
Facebook ads and measurement tools, which enable websites and apps to show ads from Facebook advertisers, to run their own ads on Facebook or elsewhere, and to understand the effectiveness of their ads.
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. (Emphasis added.)
No comments:
Post a Comment