Unless you have been living under a rock, you pretty much have heard about the Facebook login data leak in the Cambridge Analytica Scandal. Do you Trust Facebook now? Sensitive data of over 87 Million Facebook users was exposed and even used to influence the 2016 U.S elections.
What Exactly Happened? Why you should not use the Facebook login button.
I am sure you must have clicked the login with Facebook on many websites and services. It is a very quick way to get authenticated on a website and fill in your details. Almost every service out there has a login with a Facebook button. Some years back when this technology was in its early phase, a man named Aleksandr Kogan built a quiz app on this Facebook platform and got access to data from all users who used it.
That was not it, as due to a security loophole in the Facebook API at that time, he actually managed to get details of friends of those people who hadn’t even used the app. All of this data was eventually sold to Cambridge Analytica, and they eventually used it to influence the 2016 Elections for Donald Trump.
What data do they possibly have?
I see a lot of people don’t really care about the data leaks as much, their simple idea is that what can they possibly do with their data. A very simple answer would be – Anything.
I actually downloaded my Facebook data once and I was shocked to see the amount of data they have captured and are still capturing on a daily basis.
Data such as when you log in, what you do on Facebook, How do you feel at a particular time of the day, where did you login from, and just enough data to scare the shit out of anyone looking for privacy.
You think your messages with your girlfriend are your private data(LOL). That’s just the beginning. The real data is the one you didn’t even notice you were giving out.
What can they do with my data?
They know when you wake up, when you sleep, what you like, what you don’t. And Facebook says that they are using it so they can provide better ads. To be honest, I actually don’t mind that. But how can I be sure that the data you are collecting won’t be given out so easily?
Any extremist organization that gets access to this data can very well use it for terrorism. And why do even talk about some other organization getting access to it? Sooner or later Facebook will start getting more into our lives in the name of providing relevant ads.
Conclusion
So finally answering the question. Can we really trust Facebook now? Well, speaking for myself, I cannot trust Facebook anymore. I was actually waiting for Zuckerberg’s statement and from what I have seen in this video. It is very clear that they will use our data no matter what. So I guess it’s just a matter of time before our data is sold in the black market like how passwords are sold every year. The only way to solve that problem is to AVOID FACEBOOK.
