Mark Zuckerberg and Facebook have been f*cking with user privacy in every possible way for more than a decade. Facebook is always tracking every aspect of your online activity including bank details, even when you are not actively using it. The whole sh*t show came to limelight after the Cambridge Analytica scandal in 2018.
There is no such thing as online privacy
According to a survey conducted by Pew Research Center last year, more than 70% of Americans did not know that Facebook collects data about them even when they are using other websites and apps. It compiles all that data to show you targeted ads.
You see Facebook Like, Share and Comment plugins on other websites? That’s Facebook collecting data on you when you are using other websites. Facebook also has a tracking software called Pixel installed on tens of thousands of websites and apps on the Internet. There is no way a user can escape it.
Facebook has admitted that its liberal data-sharing policies with third-party advertisers could have enabled hackers to steal the data of all of its 2 billion users worldwide. To save face after the Cambridge Analytica scandal, Mark Zuckerberg promised that he would make Facebook’s data collection practices more transparent. He had to. He was under immense pressure from politicians and regulators.
Earlier this year, the social networking giant introduced the “Off-Facebook Activity” tracker to let its users see how Facebook is tracking their online activity and bank details. Even when Facebook is closed, all the thousands of apps and websites that have its tracking software installed keep providing it with your activities.
How to stop Facebook from tracking bank details and activity
Here’s how you can turn some of the features off. But remember that disabling the “Off-Facebook Activity” tracker means you’ll lose access to websites and apps that you’ve logged in using Facebook. To disable it:
- Go to Facebook Settings
- Select Your Facebook Information
- Now select Off-Facebook Activity. You can also go to the Off-Facebook Activity page directly using this link
- You’ll be able to see the data Facebook has collected on your activities. The banner preview will show you the list of apps that Facebook knows you have used. Here you can access your full activity list for the last six months
- Click Clear History to delete all the information Facebook has saved
- If you want to prevent Facebook from tracking your online activity including bank details in the future, on the same Off-Facebook Activity page look for an option called Manage Your Off-Facebook Activity. Click on it
- Now click Manage Future Activity and then toggle off the Future Off-Facebook Activity button
There is still no guarantee that Facebook will not track your online activities. What companies say and what they actually do are two entirely different things. A better option is to do what I have done – Permanently delete your Facebook account.
