Here are all of the creepy things Facebook knows about you.
Facebook knows more about your personal life than you think. As part of the company’s aggressive advertising platform, Facebook works extremely hard to track you across the Internet. The company compiles a list of personal details about every user that includes major life events and general interests. For years, people assumed how the social network targeted ads. But, the company has finally given us a quick glimpse into how they are one of the most powerful companies in the world.
Facebook published new targeted ad education portal and updated its ad preference settings to make them easier for users to understand. The tools reveal 98 personal data points Facebook uses to target ads to you and you would not be wrong to feel creeped out about what Facebook knows and uses to sell advertising.
There are are plenty of obvious characteristics that Facebook knows about its users, such as whether they’re getting married, or are about to have a baby. Most of that personal data is collected when people voluntarily post to Facebook or update their profiles.
But then there’s creepier stuff that definitely isn’t submitted voluntarily, such as the number of credit cards you have, whether you’re an investor, what are the types of things you invest in, whether you have a balance on your credit card, whether you use coupons, and whether you’re likely to move.
Facebook gathers this kind of information by tracking your activity on the site, your mobile devices and your location settings. What is less obvious is the company also tracks every website you visit.
As The Washington Post points out, Facebook knows every time you visit a page with a “like” or “share” button.
It also gives publishers a tool called Facebook Pixel that allows both parties to track visits from any Facebook user.
Facebook also partners with companies who gather information from government records, surveys, and warranties to learn more about Facebook users.
By collecting all of this information, the social media company can make predictions about whether you are single, married, about to buy a car or leave the country. Then they sell you advertising based around those predictions. The assumptions are not always correct but, it has helped the company grow into a $355 billion empire based around these predictions, and it doesn’t look like they are going anywhere anytime soon.
Here’s the full list of the 98 things Facebook knows about you.
- Location
- Age
- Generation
- Gender
- Language
- Education level
- Field of study
- School
- Ethnic affinity
- Income and net worth
- Home ownership and type
- Home value
- Property size
- Square footage of home
- Year home was built
- Household composition
- Users who have an anniversary within 30 days
- Users who are away from family or hometown
- Users who are friends with someone who has an anniversary, is newly married or engaged, recently moved, or has an upcoming birthday
- Users in long-distance relationships
- Users in new relationships
- Users who have new jobs
- Users who are newly engaged
- Users who are newly married
- Users who have recently moved
- Users who have birthdays soon
- Parents
- Expectant parents
- Mothers, divided by “type” (soccer, trendy, etc.)
- Users who are likely to engage in politics
- Conservatives and liberals
- Relationship status
- Employer
- Industry
- Job title
- Office type
- Interests
- Users who own motorcycles
- Users who plan to buy a car (and what kind/brand of car, and how soon)
- Users who bought auto parts or accessories recently
- Users who are likely to need auto parts or services
- Style and brand of car you drive
- Year car was bought
- Age of car
- How much money user is likely to spend on next car
- Where user is likely to buy next car
- How many employees your company has
- Users who own small businesses
- Users who work in management or are executives
- Users who have donated to charity (divided by type)
- Operating system
- Users who play canvas games
- Users who own a gaming console
- Users who have created a Facebook event
- Users who have used Facebook Payments
- Users who have spent more than average on Facebook Payments
- Users who administer a Facebook page
- Users who have recently uploaded photos to Facebook
- Internet browser
- Email service
- Early/late adopters of technology
- Expats (divided by what country they are from originally)
- Users who belong to a credit union, national bank or regional bank
- Users who investor (divided by investment type)
- Number of credit lines
- Users who are active credit card users
- Credit card type
- Users who have a debit card
- Users who carry a balance on their credit card
- Users who listen to the radio
- Preference in TV shows
- Users who use a mobile device (divided by what brand they use)
- Internet connection type
- Users who recently acquired a smartphone or tablet
- Users who access the Internet through a smartphone or tablet
- Users who use coupons
- Types of clothing user’s household buys
- Time of year user’s household shops most
- Users who are “heavy” buyers of beer, wine or spirits
- Users who buy groceries (and what kinds)
- Users who buy beauty products
- Users who buy allergy medications, cough/cold medications, pain relief products, and over-the-counter meds
- Users who spend money on household products
- Users who spend money on products for kids or pets, and what kinds of pets
- Users whose household makes more purchases than is average
- Users who tend to shop online (or off)
- Types of restaurants user eats at
- Kinds of stores user shops at
- Users who are “receptive” to offers from companies offering online auto insurance, higher education or mortgages, and prepaid debit cards/satellite TV
- Length of time user has lived in house
- Users who are likely to move soon
- Users who are interested in the Olympics, fall football, cricket or Ramadan
- Users who travel frequently, for work or pleasure
- Users who commute to work
- Types of vacations user tends to go on
- Users who recently returned from a trip
- Users who recently used a travel app
- Users who participate in a timeshare
Via Washington Post
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What do you think? Share with us your thoughts in the comments below.
