Facebook is stealing your data, in a way, is responsible for all the social media websites we have at present. Founded in 2007, Mark Zuckerberg, started Facebook to let you connect with your friends, family, and relatives online irrespective of their geographical location. Facebook currently has 2 billion subscribers and around a billion active users. That might tell you the reach of this website on people. So, imagine if the same platform which takes away a major chunk of your time daily is using your private information and selling it to the highest corporate willing to pay the money.

You might think that setting your account to Private might all you need to safeguard your personal data, but as they say, Internet Privacy is a myth. It has come to light that Facebook sold the user information to Cambridge Analytic which then used the data to manipulate and change the course of US presidential elections. So, do you think Facebook collects your private data? Well, the funny part is they don't, you willingly provide your personal information while you sign up to use their services. Let us see how Facebook is able to exploit you on the basis of personal information you gave them.

No Privacy in Privacy Policy of Facebook

That might sound a little absurd, but the words written in the capital are in fact true in every sense. Whenever you make an account on Facebook, you provide your name, email address, phone number, age, the place you work at, your likes and dislikes. After that the main part comes, you agree to their Terms & Condition without even giving it a side glance. And I am pretty sure none of you ever go to their Privacy policy page to read what it says. This is where all the manipulation begins, their Privacy policy literally says that the company might use your personal information, preferences, your messages, likes & Dislikes and everything you put on your Facebook profile. You might think that is wrong, but guess what you agreed to it without reading it.

How Facebook manipulates you and then uses your personal data

Once you make an account on Facebook, it plants a cookie in your browser which tracks all your move, clicks, visits and literally every moment of yours, online as well as offline. Facebook collects all this information over the course of time you use its services. Basically, Facebook knows everything about you, your workplace, your friends, your age, your likes, your dislikes, websites, and products you are interested in, kind of content you like. All these information are then sold to sponsors and even third-party companies, to specifically curtail the services of your choice.

You must have noticed ad popups on your screen and every website you visit related to something you recently searched online. With modern technologies being discovered, Facebook can now recognize your face too. It can tag you automatically in posts your face is in. These things might sound scary, but it's true. This is the price you pay to use facebook.

What if a user does not share any information?

Well, that is practically impossible, in order to create an account you must provide your name, email address, and certain personal info. You might think by, providing limited data, it won't be able to track you, but Facebook will then starts popping up ad and preferences of your friends on your profile. No matter how hard you try, you cannot escape the backlash and hidden dark side of Facebook. It will manipulate your minimal information with your friends and then curtail ads on that basis.

What can be done to stop Facebook from collecting my personal information?

It might be really shocking to know that Facebook is not only using your data but also, splashing it all over the internet to others. Obviously, Facebook has made connecting with your friend only a few clicks away, but is it worth to endanger your personal private information to be manipulated this way? Well. you may need to answer those questions, but you can at least try to keep a check on your privacy. I will discuss a few techniques to safeguard your data from being monitored.

Delete your Facebook Account

This is the first step you need to take forward in order to safeguard your privacy. Deleting your Facebook account is not an easy task. You can for sure deactivate your account from Security settings but deletion needs a bit of digging. Find the Deletion Page of Facebook, and first download all your personal information before deleting the account. Facebook will tell you that it will require 90 days to completely remove all information related to your profile.

Use incognito mode

If deleting your Facebook account is not possible, make sure you keep your browsing private. The use of Incognito mode will help you keep a screen over your browsing information as the trackers won't work.

Enable Do Not Track

Generally, current browsers ask for your permission to allow a particular website to track your browsing and location. Always deny such permissions to help you safeguard your data against any kind of manipulation.

Use VPN

Virtual Private Network hides your browser information, IP location from such trackers. Use of VPN will allow you to make sure your private data is not being monitored by any cookie.

By using these methods, you can at least try your best to keep your personal information private.