Facebook knows a lot about you.
But it's only recently that its two billion-plus users have become interested in knowing just exactly how much data Facebook has collected on them.
It's difficult to uncover every piece of piece of your personal data that's trickled out to the internet and into the hands of advertisers.
However, the good news is that Facebook gives users the option to see most of the information that's been collected so far.
In the wake of Facebook's privacy scandal, many of the site's two billion-plus users are now taking steps to protect or delete their personal data from being collected on the site. File photo
The social media giant continues to deal with the fallout from its massive data scandal, after it was revealed that 50 million members' data had been harvested without their knowledge.
Since then, many people have been waking up to the fact that user data collection is the backbone of Facebook.
Downloading your archived user data from Facebook may reveal a laundry list of eyebrow-raising data points, from your personal call records, to text messages, as well as your location each time you log into the site. To download your data, first log in to your Facebook account.
In the right-hand corner of your News Feed, there should be an arrow that displays a dropdown menu.
From there, click on 'Settings' and click on 'Download a copy of your Facebook data' at the bottom of the screen.
That will take you to a new page, where you can click on 'Start My Archive' to get a copy of what you've shared on the site, as well as any personal data that's been collected.
Users can find out exactly what kinds of data Facebook has collected from them by downloading an archive from the site (pictured). To do this, click on 'Settings' in the News Feed
Facebook may tell you to enter your password, as well as your email, so that it can notify you when your archive is ready for download.
It may take several minutes depending on how much data you have and how long you've been a Facebook user.
For example, if you've been a Facebook user for more than a decade, it could take up to 10 minutes for the company to send you your data.
Once you receive your files, the information is broken down into sections like contact info, text messages, Facebook messages, advertisers and more.
Many users have been shocked to learn the lengths to which Facebook has gone to collect their personal data.
Facebook addressed the concerns on Sunday in a statement that some critics called 'tin-eared' due to its accusatory nature.
Downloading your archived user data from Facebook may reveal some eyebrow-raising data, like personal call records and texts, as well as your location each time you log into the site
Part of what makes companies like Facebook and Google so valuable, is that they oversee vast treasure troves of user data which can be of huge benefit to brands.
For advertisers, it means they're more likely to get a higher click-through rate on their advertisements, boosting the effectiveness of their campaigns.
For users, it means forfeiting personal information to a variety of unknown sources.
Thankfully, there are a number of steps that can be taken to prevent Facebook's ad partners from following you as you browse the internet on your phone or desktop computer.
Changing your settings on your smartphone or tablet
If you own an iPhone or iPad, the steps to block targeted adverts are relatively simple.
Go to Settings, tap Privacy and then scroll down to click on Advertising.
From there, swipe the 'Limit Ad Tracking' button.
If you choose to leave the 'Limit Ad Tracking' feature off, that means that advertisers can track your browsing behaviour by assigning your device a unique ID number, or a Identifier For Advertising.
When you the option on, your device will be represented as '00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000000.'
In turn, it will be harder for ad technology companies to track your browsing behaviour.
If you own an Android phone or tablet, the process is very similar.
Open up Settings, navigate to Accounts and Sync, select Google, then Ads and finally, select 'Opt Out of Interest Based Ads.'
Changing your browser settings
If you're browsing the internet on Google Chrome, go to 'Settings' in the right-hand dropdown menu.
From there, click on 'Show advanced settings,' then select Privacy.
Finally, click on 'Send a do not track request with your browsing traffic.'
A popup on Chrome further explains what this means: 'Enabling Do Not Track means that a request will be included with your browsing traffic.
'Any effect depends on whether a website responds to the request, and how the request is interpreted.'
'For example, some websites may respond to this request by showing you ads that aren't based on other websites you've visited.'
'Many websites will still collect and use your browsing data-- for example, to improve security, to provide content, services, ads, and recommendations on their websites, and to generate reporting statistics.'
What this means is that not all websites necessarily have to honour 'Do Not Track' requests.
Contacting your local data privacy alliance
Google, Facebook and Twitter are just a few of the major corporations that are part of a number of privacy alliances that have agreed to honour requests to stop tracking.
These are the Digital Advertising Alliance in the US, the Digital Advertising Alliance of Canada and the European Interactive Digital Advertising Alliance.
The websites of each of these organisations contain instructions on how to add your details to their 'do not track' schemes.
Change your tacking settings in Facebook
Facebook has given users of its social network the option to opt out of ad tracking via the site.
First, log in to Facebook, go to Settings, then click on 'Ads' in the menu on the left-hand side of the screen.
Under Ad Settings, click on the button that says 'Ads on apps and websites off of the Facebook Companies.'
Then scroll down to the bottom and select 'No.'
Facebook says that if you select that option, it means that you'll still see ads, but 'they won't be as relevant to you.'
Additionally, you may still see ads related to your age, gender or location. 'You may have seen some recent reports that Facebook has been logging people’s call and SMS (text) history without their permission,' the company wrote in a blog post.
'This is not the case,' Facebook added.
The company went on to explain that people have to opt-in for it to be collected from Messenger or Facebook Lite on Android devices.
However, it seems unclear whether users were aware of how their data would be used when they opted in to the feature.
Facebook maintains that it doesn't sell the data, which includes phone contacts and text history, or collect the content of your data. Additionally, users can choose to turn off the feature after they've opted in, Facebook said.
But the statement doesn't appear to have quelled users' increasing fears that their personal privacy is being preyed upon on the website.
The archived files can go back more than a decade and, at times, can even include information users thought they'd deleted.
Some users were shocked to see that Facebook had contact information for every person in their address book, while an CNN reporter said that it had the phone number for her late grandmother who never had a Facebook account or an email address.
Many were also surprised to learn which advertisers Facebook had shared their data with.
In some cases, the list of advertisers climbed to as more than 100 different companies.
Facebook maintains that it doesn't sell the data, which includes phone contacts and text history, or collect the content of your text conversations or call logs
HOW DO YOU DELETE FACEBOOK?
Click on the 'help' button on the top right hand corner of your Facebook page.
There is a search bar that says 'How can we help?'. Type in 'delete account'.
This will link you to Facebook's Delete Account page, where you will need to select 'Delete My Account' and enter your login credentials.
'If you do not think you will use Facebook again and would like your account deleted, we can take care of this for you', the message reads.
'Keep in mind that you will not be able to reactivate your account or retrieve any of the content or information you have added.'
If you want to keep your personal data you need to download it before deleting your account. Pictured is Mark Zuckerberg
After two weeks, Facebook will begin the process of deleting all your data from the site, which may take up to 90 days.
If you want to keep your personal data you need to download it before deleting your account.
To download your archive go to 'Settings' and click 'Download a copy of your Facebook data' at the General Account Settings tap.
Then click 'Start My Archive'.Users can also see what data categories Facebook has collected on the company's website.
A few of the categories include email addresses (even those you've removed), facial recognition data from photos you've been tagged in, a list of IP addresses where you've logged into your Facebook from, as well as your current address and pass addresses.
Some of the more mundane information includes people you've removed as a friend, events you've been invited to, your gender, any posts you've liked, people who've liked your posts and a list of who's poked you or people you've poked, among other things.
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