How to Stop Fb from Data Theft || 9 Hacks to Deceive Facebook That Spying on us
Welcome to CXB
Is Facebook spying on us? Is it really true? In recent times, there has been ongoing a lot of debate and discussion about Facebook spying on us
The founder and CEO of Facebook Mark Zuckerberg, has confirmed that Facebook is constantly monitoring users’ messages and data in a recent interview at the global platform.
The latest news shows that Facebook’s privacy has been compromised, and around 87 million users’ information was leaked without their permission or knowledge, as confirmed by Cambridge Analytica. Among those millions, about 5.6 lakh were Indian users.
If you use Facebook, you may already know that Facebook tracks you and stores a lot of information about you. The social media giant has an enormous amount of information on its users. You might not think much about it, but in reality, they really do know a lot about you. Your likes/dislikes, where you have been, who your friends are, and so much more, plus you have probably seen ads that are all personalized based on your likes and dislikes.
Facebook’s record on tracking and privacy is dire. In 2018, there was the Cambridge Analytica scandal. In 2019, the FTC fined Facebook $5 billion for failing to protect data from third parties.
The EU fined Facebook $122 million for submitting misleading information about its WhatsApp takeover (they said they weren’t going to link data, then did exactly that). The UK’s Information Commissioner’s Office fined Facebook the utterly laughable amount of £500,000 for breaching data privacy rules.
So, it is too important to protect our privacy and data from the great Facebook
 |
| Credits- bluecoat.com |
In this blog, I will tell you 9 methods to stop Facebook from penetrating your privacy and data
So Let’s Start our Chapter 9 Hacks to Deceive Facebook:
1. Location– Facebook is notorious for capturing user data to create profiles that advertisers can target, and that includes the location data from your phone. If that makes you uncomfortable, you can stop the Facebook mobile app from tracking your location completely, or allow it to do so only when you’re using the app.
On Android
- Launch the Facebook app on your phone, and then go to Settings and Privacy and tap on Settings.
- Scroll down to the Privacy section and tap on the Location option.
- Tap on Location Services to turn on or turn off location tracking.
- The Background Location option allows you to choose whether you want to allow Facebook to track your location even when you’re not using the app.
On iOS devices,
It’s Settings > Privacy > Location Services > Facebook > Never.
2. Microphone – While Facebook might not be listening through your phone’s microphone, some apps definitely are. So, disable the microphone for those apps that don’t need it anyway to function.
On Android
Go to Settings>Select Apps/Manage Apps
Find Facebook, and
Tap “Facebook”
Tap “App permissions”
Tap “Microphone”
Then turn the slider to OFF
On iOS devices, Go to Settings > Privacy > Microphone > Facebook and again slide it off.
3. Protect Feature
Do not click on “Secure”
Never click on Facebook’s “Security” feature. As mentioned, it is effectively like installing spyware on your device
Do not use the Facebook Guard Feature
4. Install a trusted VPN and anonymous browsers
Use a VPN (not Facebook’s Onavo). A VPN will secure and encrypt your private data and protect you from hackers. A VPN will ensure you browse the web anonymously, meaning no one—even your Internet Service Provider—will be able to see what websites you’re visiting online. And a trusted VPN will NEVER share or store your IP address
I will advise you to use paid VPN like Nord, hotspotshield, tunnelbear, expressvpn
These are more secure and safe
I will also advise you to use free VPN services like Psiphon, TouchVPN
All are available on Android/IOS/Windows/Mac/Linux
Use a Privacy-Focused Alternative Browser
Most of the user in the world uses Google’s Chrome browser to access Facebook, so you are being tracked. But you don’t have to fear your browser tracking your online activity. There are several privacy-protection browser alternatives are available So, you can use them to stop Facebook tracking.
Opera Browser comes with a built-in VPN, so it is also a great option
All are available on Android/IOS/Windows/Mac/Linux
5. Avoid Re-Registering Any Loyalty Cards and Government ID’s
You have to use your loyalty cards when you buy foodstuffs, groceries, and other belongings, but don’t register a card on Facebook that has your own name, address, phone number, and more personal details. Take the card that won’t let anyone track you.
Sometimes you get blocked by Facebook for breaching its terms and policies. The main reason behind this is that you are posting illegal and violating content, and then Facebook asks for personal documents such as a driver’s license, Social Security number, Voter Card, and so on to unlock the account.
Please don’t give your government ids and forget that blocked account and start a new one. And also don’t post illegal and communalism-related posts that violate Facebook terms and conditions.
6. Stop targeted ads
We’ve all been there. You’re searching for smartphones, Shirts, or gadgets online and then you see an ad for it immediately on Facebook, YouTube, or your browser.
Online targeted advertisements use data from your browser to make marketing more personalized. Special algorithms then look at your website visits and searches over time to predict your preferences and show ads you may be interested in. Facebook shows ads according to your choices. You can opt out of this function by turning it off
- Go to Settings and then Account Settings.
- Navigate to Ads and then Ad Settings.
- Now, turn off everything.
7. Don’t Post “Public”:
Finally, be careful about what you post. Many of us post sensitive information – such as the names of our children, where we live, where we went to dinner, where we are going on holiday – in our social media feeds. The default setting for Facebook is to make your post public, so anyone can see what you are doing and use that data against you (your kids’ fake profiles to steal your identities from hackers to sell that data to the broker). Switch it to private so that only your friends can see what you post.
Finally, be careful about what you post. Many of us post sensitive information – such as the names of our children, where we live, where we went to dinner, where we are going on holiday – in our social media feeds. The default setting for Facebook is to make your post public, so anyone can see what you are doing and use that data against you (your kids’ fake profiles to steal your identities from hackers to sell that data to the broker). Switch it to private so that only your friends can see what you post.
8. Cookies Blocking:
Whether you’re using Opera, Firefox, Chrome, Safari, Edge, or Internet Explorer, there are options to turn off your cookie settings. For example, in Chrome, click “Settings,” “Show advanced settings,” and then click on “content settings.” Once there, you can disable cookies
Use a browser plug-in
You can use a browser plug-in to limit data tracking. For example, Mozilla launched a Firefox browser plug-in called a Facebook Container, which helps control how much data the social media company can access.
9. Facebook face recognition:
Facebook is very smart in terms of identifying people’s faces. Facebook’s Facial Recognition algorithm is one of the best in the world, it’s how Facebook knows who’s in a picture without anyone mentioning that person at all. But be careful Uploading your childhood pics and teenhood pics helps Facebook face recognization to know you more.
To disable it, By going in Facebook app settings
Settings > Facial Recognition > and turn the slider off.
Verdict: In the world of technology, we can’t stay in the darkness of making ourselves depart from modern social activities. We must stay in the form of technology. It is not a smart move to quit Facebook. We can definitely take some privacy precautions to avoid Facebook from spying on us. If we can stop Facebook from spying on us even on these basic levels, I believe a lot of our privacy would be saved from becoming rows of data on someone’s ledger.
Message me if you have any queries related to this post
Check out my post on How-to-stop-google-from-tracking-your-data if you want to keep your privacy safe.