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It’s no secret that Facebook is the one app that is on the top of most tech experts’ lists of apps you should delete. The social media giant is infamous for selling users’ data to its advertisers and doing everything in its power to keep you on the site for as long as possible. Facebook is also a major battery drainer, one that constantly streams videos and pushes forth notifications. But if you’re still on the fence about whether or not to delete the Facebook app, Privacy Expert Heinrich Long at Restore Privacy spoke to SHEFinds.com about the scary reason you should delete Facebook in 2021.
You’re aware that Facebook takes your information — but do you know just how much data it gathers on you?
“Facebook uses all the information it can find about you - yes, including [information] you didn’t provide,” Long says. “Even if you’ve never had a Facebook account, Facebook actively gathers info on you and uses it to create a profile for you - your age, your location, your preferences, your gender, whether or not you have kids, how educated you are, etc.”
According to Long, this information is used to more effectively target you for ads based on this profile, or it’s sold on to third parties that can utilize this info as they wish. “Sadly, Facebook has their fingers in a million pies, so it’s almost impossible to avoid them,” Long says. “Facebook also owns super popular apps like Instagram and Whatsapp, so even if you don’t have Facebook, you’re still in their clutches.”
If you can, Long says the best thing to do is avoid Facebook’s apps entirely, or try to create profiles that aren’t necessarily accurate for your person. “I wouldn’t post any pictures of yourself or your family, because once they’re out, they’re out,” Long says. “Those posts that were going around a few years ago telling Facebook that it doesn’t have permission to use your pictures is worth nothing.”
Unfortunately, you agree to these terms when you install the app, so there’s nothing you can really do about it — except delete and never look back. “And even then, be careful - deactivation means the profile still lives out there somewhere,” Long says. “You want to wipe it out completely.”
