In the News
How much personal data does Facebook have access too? In App makers are sharing sensitive personal information with Facebook but not telling users, Nick Statt at The Verge discusses how Facebook receives user health information such as heart rate and fertility information from external apps to further ad personalization on the social media platform. Statt explains that by using an ‘App Events’ tool, external apps share user information directly with Facebook. Statt details that these external apps do not disclose this practice with their users.
Our Take
The key word in all of the recent data misuse incidents is transparency. Often, users consent to giving an app access to their information or to a site for allowing cookies to run. However, issues arise when individuals feel deceived and misled by the companies that have access to their data and personal information. We have all seen the oddly specific ads that appear on our social media feeds and wonder how the platforms knows our preferences so specifically. Although having Facebook know your heart rate or other targeted health information is violating in theory, the reported data being collected is not as sensitive financial information or extensive medical history. Regardless, without explicit user consent, this information should remain in the property of the external apps.
Recommendations
How can you protect your personal information from exposure and data misuse?
- Understand the risks of putting your personal information into the world, and only share what you have to
- Carefully read contracts and agreements before accepting a company’s policies
- Utilize additional security/privacy measures and settings on apps, accounts, and platforms whenever possible
- Refrain from choosing passwords that contain a simple word or phrase–create strong passwords and change them periodically – the longer the better.
- Stay up to date on news covering recent breaches to see if you may have been affected