What the Facebook Data Breach Means For Facebook Ads & Your Data

A like here…an update there. We willingly update our Facebook profiles to include more and more detailed information about our lives. While this may seem harmless and purely for the purpose of connecting with others, this data is most valuable when fed through Facebook’s advertising network. The problem here is that Facebook is a bit laissez-faire when it comes to user consent on this info.

This scandal came about when an app called “This Is Your Digital Life” scraped data on up to 87 million users, at which point Cambridge Analytica, a political ad firm, pulled Facebook user data from. In the app’s terms of service it stated that it would pull data from “you and your friends”. While this is legal, the key word to look out for is “friends”. Meaning that if a friend of yours downloaded the app, your info was divulged even though you never agreed to the app’s terms.

It’s like if your storage facility started giving away items in your unit because your neighbor in 082 signed an agreement…

This is just one of the many problems Facebook needs to fix.

Securing Your Profile: What can you do?

Your Settings On Facebook

There are a few settings you can adjust to make your data more secure. This includes who can find you on Facebook, what general info (gender, location, etc) you divulge to others, and what apps you allow to pull data from you. I highly recommend making these changes.

Downloading Apps : Facebook Login

When downloading apps, its safe to just not log in with your Facebook account. Instead, input your email address and password.

As a business, how will it affect ads?

Unless you’re pushing out a political or issue based advertisement, things won’t change much in terms of your ability to target audiences. While users now have more control over the information that they let Facebook use (and there should be more control), for the most part there will always be data we can’t hold back from Facebook. Why? Because Facebook’s bread and butter is it’s advertising network; without them they have $0 in revenue.

As users we should always be assessing whether it’s a good idea to be on Facebook and how much of our personal data is worth giving to the platform. As more news unfolds, be sure to keep an eye on the settings and privacy controls that become available to you.

ShopKetti is a wholesale platform connecting independent creators and retailers. Explore the community and join for free at shopketti.com.