5 tips to keep your data safe from Facebook

With the rise of social media apps, of which Facebook is the biggest and widest network with over billions of users on its platform, handling data of such a huge number of users also brings with it the issue of privacy and protecting user data. And, to its surprise, the biggest social media giant has also recently been involved in some of the biggest data breaches including the Cambridge Analytica scandal that exposed personal information of over 87 million users.

We all use Facebook at some point of time to either connect with a loved one, share few photos from a trip you took together with your friends, etc. Facebook stores all this information at its secure servers, but given the intensity of data breaches happened recently, users are now scared of putting their personal information online. And while you can limit the amount of data you store on your profile, but Facebook has ways to get even more information about yourself.

Facebook, which started as a social Facebook is no more just a network to connect people but has now evolved into a widest ad network too, and it tracks you around on the internet and in real life to access information it could use to push the ads more relevant to you. The social media giant tracks you so much that it sometimes feels like the company is eavesdropping on your conversations.

Here are few tips to safeguard yourself from keeping Facebook.

Log on, surf, log out

The first and most important step is to limit the information the company uses to determine which ads it shows you. For this, go to settings, then choose ‘Ads’. Then navigate to ‘Your ad preferences,’ and then click on ‘Ad settings.’

Under ‘Ads based on data from partners,’ you can opt out of seeing ads.

The next section is ‘Ads based on your activity on Facebook company products that you see elsewhere.’ Here, you can decide whether you want the company to use specific information about you to tailor ads you see on other websites.

Cut off third-party apps

The biggest data scandal Cambridge Analytica revealed how a UK-based political consulting app was misusing data harvested from Facebook users. The scandal simply revealed just how much data transfer happens between the network and third-party companies and organisations.

While the social media giabt has changed the options for how third-party apps can use your data, even though it will be a good practice to take a look at your settings again if you haven't done so recently.

Under the ‘Settings’ page, select ‘Apps and websites’ which will show a list of apps or websites that you logged in to using your Facebook account. From there, you can limit the information they can request.

Use outside blocking tools

Don’t just blindly rely on Facebook settings to limit your information. There are plenty of tools that can take your privacy to the next level. For instance, Safari automatically blocks Facebook and any other third-party service from using two types of web trackers on websites: third-party cookies and browser fingerprinting. Controlling those trackers is important if you want to limit Facebook's ability to watch you.

Keep your location limited

Another way that Facebook knows about you, the people around you, whether they're friends, co-workers or strangers on the subway is by location. So, the first thing to do here is to lock down on your location. But this isn't enough. As IP address reveals your location to the websites you has visited recently, so hide it with a VPN.

There's always more

Lastly, you can uninstall Facebook app on your phone. But since Facebook owns Instagram, WhatsApp and Messenger, it is possible it can still track you. So, if you going to quit, we recommend you to quit these too.