Facebook is perhaps the most ubiquitous website in the world right now. Its popularity is constantly soaring, and we can’t really see it failing anytime soon. It’s a fun way to connect with new friends, old friends, family members, and even strangers.
But there is some stuff that you should probably know about this popular social media platform. They hold a ton of information about you that you might not even know about, and some of it is downright creepy.
1. Facebook can be used for extortion. Since your Facebook profile contains a ton of information, hackers can get in there and find out embarrassing things about you that they can use against you. Keeping profile information at a minimum will serve you well.
2. Your uploaded pictures contain lots of information, such as what type of camera took the picture and where it was taken. With Facebook’s new facial recognition system, the site can even tell who was in the photo with you.
3. Facebook has predictive technology that measures how long your mouse hovers over certain ads. Based on that data, they repeat ads that hock similar products.
4. Ever Google something and then see an ad for that item or company on your Facebook? It’s because they have partnerships with companies to buy your information so that they can advertise.
5. If you have Facebook on your phone, their location services can track you. Facebook constantly knows where you are, all the way down to the longitude and latitude of your location.
6. If you’ve ever sent a dirty picture or message over Facebook, the company has a record of it. Forever. It knows who you sent it to, what you said, and what picture you sent. Just some food for thought.
7. Facebook is constantly trying to pry more information out of you, which is why it’s always asking you to update where you work, where you live, and so on.
8. If you have your job listed on Facebook, anyone can link back to your profile simply by looking up that company. And companies can look you up if you are applying to jobs to see what kind of social media presence you have (but you probably knew that).
9. Facebook has a record of every profile that you’ve clicked on, so your secret crushes might not know how much you stalk them, but Facebook definitely does.
10. Facebook has hired scientific researchers to make the site as addictive and appealing as possible, which might be why you can’t seem to stay off of it.
11. If you have Facebook on your phone, it has access to your contacts, so you might see some “people you may know” in your feed that Facebook saw in your phone.
Facebook is a great tool for staying in touch with people, but be careful about what you are getting yourself into. It essentially has the power to take any of us down. Don’t cross Mark Zuckerberg.