Recent updates to Meta’s help center reveal the company’s tentative steps towards transparency and user control (or lack thereof) over personal data.
Opting out is likely impossible for people living outside the GDPR area right now.
The funny thing is that Facebook already has so much of our older data that they can use, even if you delete your account now you never know what they will do with it in the future. In 2008 when I got peer pressured by my work colleagues by saying that if I don’t create an account then they will do it for me and I didn’t want to be misrepresented on where I knew most of the people already were.
saying that if I don’t create an account then they will do it for me
I would report the hell out of them, both to Facebook and HR. That’s literally the definition of identity theft.
Although the point is kind of moot - because of all the people who know you, that do willingly share their everything (including their phone contacts, photos etc), Facebook already has a You-shaped hole, even if you don’t have an account.
So when I got pressured into creating a Facebook account (not as badly as you were though), I was so creeped out by the amount of data they already had on me, I immediately deleted my account. It felt like being invited into someone’s home for the first time and seeing a stalker shrine dedicated to yourself.
“it’s okay, I do this with everyone.”
No, it really is not.
Although the point is kind of moot - because of all the people who know you, that do willingly share their everything (including their phone contacts, photos etc), Facebook already has a You-shaped hole, even if you don’t have an account.
My favourite bit of the WhatsApp terms and conditions is where you agree that you have permission to share the information from your contacts. So, even if you go out of your way and tell WhatsApp you object to them using your data, someone else will supercede that when they accept WhatsApp’s terms.
Yeah, it’s hilarious :( I have no idea how that’s legal under GDPR. So that’s why I’m part of the small group of WhatsApp-resisting signal users in my country.
I dont believe the most teachingful conversations have happened on facebook
I think a lot of great content and conversations happened between 2007 and 2013 or something like that.
It’s too late for the gen x or boomers but is there any indication that the younger generations are not crating Facebook accounts?
Instagram is also owned by Meta
Yes but you don’t see articles about instagram as much as Facebook. It’s too late for us old timers but the journalists should focus on them instead.
