View Full Version : Facebook is watching you..........
Big Brother has nothing over Facebook. I just saw on my Facebook page (which is mainly for relatives and is only visible to them), that some of the people Facebook has "suggested" I connect with, are my neighbors, who I don't even associate with. This means they must figure out where I live and cross reference with other people near this address. That's kinda spooky.
iris lilies
1-26-18, 5:20pm
Big Brother has nothing over Facebook. I just saw on my Facebook page (which is mainly for relatives and is only visible to them), that some of the people Facebook has "suggested" I connect with, are my neighbors, who I don't even associate with. This means they must figure out where I live and cross reference with other people near this address. That's kinda spooky.
That is annoying.
I continue to wonder if or when the Facebook will offer up my profile as a suggested “friend” to people I have stalked. I dont want the Facebook to so that. While I do have a nome de plume (against their rules!) I still do not wantthat to happen. So far, I have not seen evidence that happens, but it certainly is within their rights and technical ability to do.
Yeah, I've worried about that too. Some of the people I look up I don't want knowing I'm around. I wonder if my neighbor showed up as a suggestion because she had looked me up? Did you know that there is some sort of app that lets you know who is looking at your Facebook? I don't have that but I know people that do. I've looked up some of the people I used to work with and after a while I was not able to access their Facebook page. Which is fine. They have the right to exclude me from seeing their stuff even though they let the world see it. But still, I wish Facebook would step back a bit.
flowerseverywhere
1-27-18, 7:33am
I have Facebook With only a few geographically distant friends I am connected with. I am in dozens of groups pertaining to quilting, African violets, Native wildflowers , and some musicians I follow. Facebook can be a valuable way for people to communicate about their hobbies, but it can be very creepy. So I keep it to my hobbies.
rosarugosa
1-27-18, 7:41am
Generally FB suggests friends that you have at least one friend in common with. Look to see if you have a common friend with those who are suggested. I've never had FB suggest a friend where we did not have a friend in common.
Williamsmith
1-27-18, 9:05am
Facebook is a wonderful government intelligence gathering tool. It’s platform can be used for extremely beneficial and extremely nefarious purposes. The beauty of it is it’s seemingly inoucuous interaction with its customers.
A recent brutal murder of a nutrition chain clerk was solved partially by the murderers Facebook page. He left bloody shoeprints at the crime scene. They were uniquely matched to a certain brand and model of tennis shoe. When investigators captured his Facebook account there were several pictures of the now defendant wearing the very make and model of shoe that made the print. The allowed them to seize those shoes and make a direct comparisons to anomalies in the bottom of the shoe to provide evidence in the case.
Its not common knowledge but the government through agencies like NSA constantly sweeps social media for “about” communications. This is how some domestic surveillance takes place. So yes, in a way, you are being watched.
Generally FB suggests friends that you have at least one friend in common with. Look to see if you have a common friend with those who are suggested. I've never had FB suggest a friend where we did not have a friend in common.
No, not for my neighbor. And......there's a suggestion for the car salesman that we've bought cars from in another city. I have no connection with him except for that.
Facebook is a wonderful government intelligence gathering tool. It’s platform can be used for extremely beneficial and extremely nefarious purposes. The beauty of it is it’s seemingly inoucuous interaction with its customers.
A recent brutal murder of a nutrition chain clerk was solved partially by the murderers Facebook page. He left bloody shoeprints at the crime scene. They were uniquely matched to a certain brand and model of tennis shoe. When investigators captured his Facebook account there were several pictures of the now defendant wearing the very make and model of shoe that made the print. The allowed them to seize those shoes and make a direct comparisons to anomalies in the bottom of the shoe to provide evidence in the case.
Its not common knowledge but the government through agencies like NSA constantly sweeps social media for “about” communications. This is how some domestic surveillance takes place. So yes, in a way, you are being watched.
I'm thinking I should be careful when I joke with a facebook friend about hoping a certain government official gets assassinated....
Avoiding Facebook won't help. They have a shadow profile of everyone. Even people who have never ever had a Facebook account. Anyone else you know who does have a Facebook account and who has authorized Facebook to vacuum up all the contact info in their phone, now has a shadow profile and Facebook will figure out all the potential connections for you.
Somehow Facebook connected me to my old eye doc in NJ. Undoubtedly some of the random people I don't know that facebook recommends as possible friends are other people who have my old eye doc's phone number stored in their phone's contacts.
https://gizmodo.com/how-facebook-figures-out-everyone-youve-ever-met-1819822691
Sad Eyed Lady
1-27-18, 9:46am
It's all connected, IMO. Last week I called our state legislature about a house bill going up for vote that would allow medical marijuana in our state. I called to voice my support of this, and almost right away I started getting emails that I had qualified for a trial size of medical marijuana and would I please supply info where to send it! Almost immediately - and not on my phone, on my email. I think they have trailed off now since I kept marking them spam, but that was a little strange. So, as I said, IMO it is all connected.
Williamsmith
1-27-18, 9:50am
Recently Congress extended the surveillance act which was expanded during the Bush administration after 911. While this is admittedly an entirely different concern than you have originally expressed.....the existence and use of it should be of concern to anyone who uses social media or the internet. While it began as a way to ramp up the efficiency of foreign intelligence, it necessarily had to confront the situations where Americans were communicating with foreign targets.
What it has essentially done is turned over domestic surveillnance to federal government agencies with little to no oversight. Even though if you read the act it presents a system by which there is Congressional oversight.....that system is set up so that agency administrators can’t possibly wait for the extended deadlines for reporting before they decide to sweep up “about” information. The question becomes, has Congress done this on purpose? Well, McConnell defeated attempts to put restrictions on domestic surveillance so you decide.
So, people respond...”I have nothing to hide. Who cares.” Which is one dynamic intelligence relies on. Often people make communication which is either misunderstood, left to interpretation or simply changes over time its relevance. Suppose the communication is swept up but there is no intelligence interest for a year. Now that person might have changed opinions and forgotten what they said previously. Imagine being questioned by an FBI agent regarding what you wrote or said back then? Uncomfortable? And it is a felony to lie to the FBI. How you define a lie might be the difference between court involvement and freedom.
This is all very extreme big brother type thinking which I don’t necessarily espouse. I am just pointing out that it exists and social media is part of it. That’s why it’s both nice that you can hook up with an old flame from high school while sitting in your recliner......and kind of creepy.
Richard Snowden is an interesting character in the real life drama of government abuse in surveillance.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/01/18/us/politics/surveillance-congress-snowden-privacy.html
...
Its not common knowledge but the government through agencies like NSA constantly sweeps social media for “about” communications. This is how some domestic surveillance takes place. So yes, in a way, you are being watched.
Law firms check social media too. Don't expect to win a disability claim if the insurers' attorney finds photos of you running a 5K and partying away ...
One of the things I don't like is many of the web searches I make have nothing to do with my "profile" yet data somewhere pegs it as such. I might be looking up a disease that a relative has or a place that a friend is traveling to, etc. Ditto shopping for gifts.
flowerseverywhere
1-27-18, 12:49pm
Think of all the things that you leave a record of , some of which would be very easy to track. Others would require some doing, but probably not impossible. And people make mistakes and accidentally let some of this info out.
from a credit card and loyalty cards and checking accounts
where you shop for groceries and what you buy
where you get your medical care
what insurance company you have for health, life, auto, Home etc
where you eat out
where you fly to and from
your hobbies
where you donate money
What hotels you prefer
What church you attend
from your phone:
where you are 24/7
your texts and emails
your contacts
your family
From social media sites and internet providers
your religious and political preferences
your gender preferences
lots of activities and people you associate with
what activities and hobbies you like
what searches you perform
from your TV
which sports teams you like
if you are drawn to pornography
political leanings by what channels you watch
if there are kids in the house, like if PBS is on during kids programming hours
what time the TV comes on in the morning and what time it goes off
if you like comedy, drama, and so on
it probably would not take very long to figure out if you smoked or drank alcohol, if you were vegan or a carnivore, what diagnoses you have and what medication you take for those
if you had surgery or medical testing recently
what size clothing and brand underwear you prefer. What deodorant, shampoo and personal hygiene products you use and what vitamins you take
if you do anything with a loyalty or credit card, or get email receipts just about everything you do is pretty trackable. Library cards leave a record. Most of our footprints would be pretty boring but we leave them.
Nor all library cards leave a record. Many delete it after the item is returned because librarians are very cognizant of this issue.
flowerseverywhere
1-27-18, 1:21pm
Nor all library cards leave a record. Many delete it after the item is returned because librarians are very cognizant of this issue.
ours does. You can log into your account and see your borrowing history.
iris lilies
1-27-18, 1:40pm
ours does. You can log into your account and see your borrowing history.
That is after you turn it on. If you never turn it on these records evaporate in the real time database. They dont grab a history of your checkout they just start keeping a rcord for you from the day you turn it on.
That is, unless you have fine records and those stay around until fines are paid, then they evaporate. These fine records are kept because users of the Library want to know “why do I owe $.25, what did I return late? “
there ARE transaction records that exist on backup drives, but speaking very generally, those dont hang around forever.
SteveinMN
1-28-18, 10:23am
Facebook can be quite invasive, although they're not the worst offenders (*cough* Google *cough*). But no one should for a minute think that not using Facebook keeps their lives private. Amazon customer? They've got you. Use a credit card anywhere? Your purchases and whereabouts relative to them are being tracked and marketed. Loyalty card anywhere? Same thing.
I'm not saying any of this is good. Just that Facebook, whatever people may feel about it, is not anywhere near the sole bogeyman here. Privacy is a real issue, especially when digital rights fall far behind the rights we have in the "printed" world.
Williamsmith
1-28-18, 10:30am
Facebook can be quite invasive, although they're not the worst offenders (*cough* Google *cough*). But no one should for a minute think that not using Facebook keeps their lives private. Amazon customer? They've got you. Use a credit card anywhere? Your purchases and whereabouts relative to them are being tracked and marketed. Loyalty card anywhere? Same thing.
I'm not saying any of this is good. Just that Facebook, whatever people may feel about it, is not anywhere near the sole bogeyman here. Privacy is a real issue, especially when digital rights fall far behind the rights we have in the "printed" world.
I do think the common fantasy about disappearing into the mountains in a remote log cabin to be self sufficient is driven by some awareness of how much of us is out there waiting to be exploited.
SteveinMN
1-28-18, 10:57am
I do think the common fantasy about disappearing into the mountains in a remote log cabin to be self sufficient is driven by some awareness of how much of us is out there waiting to be exploited.
Last person I heard of who did that was Ted Kaczynski (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ted_Kaczynski) and that did not work out well for him either. ;)
Williamsmith
1-28-18, 11:08am
Last person I heard of who did that was Ted Kaczynski (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ted_Kaczynski) and that did not work out well for him either. ;)
Some of what Ted wrote about made sense.......unfortunately it manifested itself in homicidal insanity. But he was nuts beforehand he went to the mountains.
ToomuchStuff
1-28-18, 11:52am
I receive offers from my CC company, wanting me to use it at grocery stores, gas stations, etc. I don't generally buy something that will be used up before the bill arrives (can think of one exception). I also tend to use it, primarily for internet purchases (which can include stuff for work).
What they are wanting is information to get a better grasp of me for their predictive algorithms. There is an old story about that, where a man gets PO'd that his daughter received ad's for diapers and formula, and she is still in high school. He contacts the store and cusses the manager out, who says he will put a stop to it. He comes home and finds out his daughter IS pregnant. It is a true story, that I don't remember if it was Target or Walmart.
Big Data, will eventually help them know what values, etc. your teaching your kids and is already used to predict your behavior.
Does Facebook know where I left my glasses? Siri has been no help at all, and the NSA won’t respond to my texts.
Does Facebook know where I left my glasses? Siri has been no help at all, and the NSA won’t respond to my texts.
LOL! I just wish there were "Find My Phone-type" apps for lots of other things!
speaking of Siri.......DH and I were taking a rid awhile back in my cart over our property. He didn't even think he had his phone turned on. He cussed. When out of his phone came "I'm going to pretend I didn't hear that." YIKES!
My friend told me about some software that can extract from your fb information about your life, hobbies, sexual life and character just based on your activity over the years. The software uses some algorithm to sort of "read between the lines" and discover personal facts about you, even though you haven't ever expressed them anywhere. It should be very accurate - to the point that it can tell that you like to smoke a cigarette or two when out with friends.
According to my friend, you can protect yourself by deleting your account after couple of years and creating a new one from scratch - this way software like that doesn't have access to enough information to pull out such details.
Facebook likely does make guesses about things like sexual preference or whether one is a smoker based on activity like groups joined, things "liked", pictures showing you with a cigarette in your mouth, etc. But as someone who's worked with computers for more than three decades, it's hard for me to believe that an algorithm could divine reliable facts (like sexual activity or whether you enjoy a cigarette when out with friends) from information you don't provide. Computers just don't work that way.
And, frankly, deleting an account after a couple of years of posts and Likes and groups joined is closing the barn door well after the horses have left and their foals have grown up. Never mind other Web sites you visit that set cookies for Facebook or for companies from which Facebook gets data to tailor what it presents to you. If your friends are that eager to throw off the angel of Facebook stalking, they're better off deleting their accounts and never going back.
Here's a hair-raising experience I had last week:
I went to the next island over to meet up with a friend, a farmer, to attend a political kickoff event for a local candidate. The event was held in the 4H barn at the county fairgrounds.
After the event, I went with my friend to scope out possible competition for a product idea she had. It involved the purchase of a semi-pro-grade freeze-dry machine. We discussed the technical details in the car. Spent 10 minutes at the farmer's market looking for competition. Got back in the car, and drove onto the ferry.
At no time during the expedition did either of us use our telephones.
About an hour after I returned home, I popped open Facebook because my kid sent me a cat picture. There, in my Facebook stream, was a sponsored ad for a high-end bit of freeze-drying equipment. Something I myself haven't searched for. How weird is that? For the next day or so, it offered up ads for this sort of gear.
I don't have Facebook and/or Messenger installed on my bone-stock phone either.
My hypothesis is that both my friend and I had our phones *on*, Facebook deduced that we were together, noted we visited the fairgrounds (and perhaps even the 4H barn), were around about 40 other farmers for about an hour at the event there, and then visited the farmers' market. And that my friend either before the day, or when she returned home, must have done some investigation on freeze-drying gear. And so it deduced that I too must want such things.
A bit off-putting.
Teacher Terry
5-1-18, 2:16pm
Bae, that is totally creepy.
Here's a hair-raising experience I had last week:
I went to the next island over to meet up with a friend, a farmer, to attend a political kickoff event for a local candidate. The event was held in the 4H barn at the county fairgrounds.
After the event, I went with my friend to scope out possible competition for a product idea she had. It involved the purchase of a semi-pro-grade freeze-dry machine. We discussed the technical details in the car. Spent 10 minutes at the farmer's market looking for competition. Got back in the car, and drove onto the ferry.
At no time during the expedition did either of us use our telephones.
About an hour after I returned home, I popped open Facebook because my kid sent me a cat picture. There, in my Facebook stream, was a sponsored ad for a high-end bit of freeze-drying equipment. Something I myself haven't searched for. How weird is that? For the next day or so, it offered up ads for this sort of gear.
I don't have Facebook and/or Messenger installed on my bone-stock phone either.
My hypothesis is that both my friend and I had our phones *on*, Facebook deduced that we were together, noted we visited the fairgrounds (and perhaps even the 4H barn), were around about 40 other farmers for about an hour at the event there, and then visited the farmers' market. And that my friend either before the day, or when she returned home, must have done some investigation on freeze-drying gear. And so it deduced that I too must want such things.
A bit off-putting.
Deus semper videt.
Wow. That is REALLY creepy. I'm at the point where I applaud people like my DIL (a cybersecurity professional) and my DS (a Luddite) who have made conscious decisions to avoid Facebook. One surefire way to be disowned by my DIL would be to post a picture of my grandkids on social media.
YouTube thinks I need a gun safe, I guess because I was watching kittens.
Scary business, bae.
YouTube thinks I need a gun safe, I guess because I was watching kittens.
Scary business, bae.
I always keep our home firearms safely locked away in the vault, where the Evil Cat can't access them. It's only prudent.
Deus semper videt.
Deuce enter bidet.
ToomuchStuff
5-2-18, 12:35am
Here's a hair-raising experience I had last week:
I went to the next island over to meet up with a friend, a farmer, to attend a political kickoff event for a local candidate. The event was held in the 4H barn at the county fairgrounds.
After the event, I went with my friend to scope out possible competition for a product idea she had. It involved the purchase of a semi-pro-grade freeze-dry machine. We discussed the technical details in the car. Spent 10 minutes at the farmer's market looking for competition. Got back in the car, and drove onto the ferry.
At no time during the expedition did either of us use our telephones.
About an hour after I returned home, I popped open Facebook because my kid sent me a cat picture. There, in my Facebook stream, was a sponsored ad for a high-end bit of freeze-drying equipment. Something I myself haven't searched for. How weird is that? For the next day or so, it offered up ads for this sort of gear.
I don't have Facebook and/or Messenger installed on my bone-stock phone either.
My hypothesis is that both my friend and I had our phones *on*, Facebook deduced that we were together, noted we visited the fairgrounds (and perhaps even the 4H barn), were around about 40 other farmers for about an hour at the event there, and then visited the farmers' market. And that my friend either before the day, or when she returned home, must have done some investigation on freeze-drying gear. And so it deduced that I too must want such things.
A bit off-putting.
What is more creepy is apps that use the microphone to monitor things for keywords (does he have anything like that on his phone, when you were talking).
Idea: Delete your Facebook and get rid of your smart phone.
Queue the technology apologetics... now!
;)
Idea: Delete your Facebook and get rid of your smart phone.
Queue the technology apologetics... now!
;)
Fire bad!
Honestly, it makes me want to throw it all away. Buy an old-fashioned flip-phone and distribute my landline # to people.
The other day I was listening to my local talk radio and they mentioned that this is "No Screen Week" and so they were taking calls from people who have rejected technology--phones, iPads, laptops, etc. It was interesting to hear the experiences of the few people that called in and said that they had thrown away, or never had, the technology we depend on every day. One woman said she had thrown her Blackberry in a pond years ago and never looked back. She said she wants to live her life, not find it through social media and a dozen apps.
She has a point, but our devices are now practically grafted to us, at least psychically. When you can now use a phone to find your way, get the answers to any question in the universe, wake up, listen to your favorite authors, get the weather, play music, make a budget, track your exercise, order a hotel, get the nearest and cheapest parking garage, message your friends without having to bother them on the phone, find out what plants are in a garden by snapping their photo, pay your bills, video your kid's birthday, order anything made under the sun online, read books, record audio reminders, and even get support for prayer and meditation.... well, it's hard to give all that up.
But are we willing to pay the price?
Fire bad!
Right on time. :)
Fire bad!
I would call this something like a false equivalency. Just because you accept the form of technology we call the "campfire" does not mean you have to accept the form of technology called "neutron bombs."
I don't suggest we reject all technology, just the parts that make life worse.
And this is purely a philosophical discussion. Why?
Because I know that humankind will keep speeding toward ecocide despite me "stand(ing) athwart history, yelling stop, at a time when no one is inclined to do so, or to have much patience with those who so urge it."
See what I did there, LDAHL? ;)
See what I did there, LDAHL? ;)
If you have to point it out, you're trying too hard.
I do use my computer and phone for many things, but Facebook is not one of them. I deleted my account several years ago.
Why does anyone continue to use it? I guess there are things I have had to opt out of because I don't use Facebook, so maybe that answers my own question--but I have taken to telling businesses/organizations that if I have to use Facebook, then I will be opting out.
I frankly wonder why anyone would put up with Facebook. . .
I would call this something like a false equivalency. Just because you accept the form of technology we call the "campfire" does not mean you have to accept the form of technology called "neutron bombs."
I don't suggest we reject all technology, just the parts that make life worse.
And this is purely a philosophical discussion. Why?
Because I know that humankind will keep speeding toward ecocide despite me "stand(ing) athwart history, yelling stop, at a time when no one is inclined to do so, or to have much patience with those who so urge it."
See what I did there, LDAHL? ;)
No fair making me cry! I really miss that guy!
Any technology can be abused, but that’s no reason to go Amish.
I use Facebook for its newsfeed and a couple of special interest groups. I deliberately have no FB friends. But I'm sure FB is collecting likes and dislikes. I could do without it, and may. But then you have smart TVs, phones, and their capabilities...
I frankly wonder why anyone would put up with Facebook. . .
To reconnect with old friends (I have happily been able to keep in touch with some old friends that I NEVER would have been able to without Facebook)
To see what's happening with current friends and family--I don't mind the pictures of trips, reunions, milestone events. I like them, and they usually make me smile.
To share my own news (which I do extremely judiciously. For example, I posted about my dog dying, and was comforted by the response).
To follow happenings and events relative to groups I follow (i.e., my local watershed organization, the master gardeners group, the Islander newspaper)
To get inspiration from like-minded groups (i.e. Films for Action; Sustainable Human, Spiritual Ecology)
ToomuchStuff
5-2-18, 10:33am
Idea: Delete your Facebook and get rid of your smart phone.
Queue the technology apologetics... now!
;)
Don't have.
Why pay, to be the product to begin with?
Candy bar style phone, around $70 a year, privacy without having to change preferences any time they choose to revamp something on Facebook, priceless.
Don't have.
Why pay, to be the product to begin with?
Candy bar style phone, around $70 a year, privacy without having to change preferences any time they choose to revamp something on Facebook, priceless.
Because apparently people get more out of Facebook than they think it's costing them. Most people don't seem to be bothered by the lack of privacy (the [fallacious] "I've got nothing to hide" argument) and they're so used to being marketed to (on TV, on billboards, in movies, on grocery carts, on urinal walls,...) that the non-stop sell doesn't much bother them, either. At least with Facebook there's an easily identifiable product/benefit that comes from all the watching and selling -- pictures of grandkids and kitties and graduations and vacations, recipes, homemaking tips, affinity groups,...
Seriously, anyone gettng their undies in a bunch about Facebook should stop using Google everything immediately. That's not happening either. Not that that defends Facebook's sloppy (and self-serving) practices with users. But Facebook is a long way away from the insidious surveillance that goes on all over, the vast majority of which (especially outside of social media) most people are totally unaware -- until that surveillance blows up publicly. Nothing you say on that candy bar phone is necessarily private, either. Just sayin'.
The Cambridge Analytica episode has made me consider (again) how I use Facebook. I do find I'm using it less than I used to. But I just saw a tweet (damned social media!) about a software program in which I'd be quite interested and the announcement (beyond Twitter's message limit) was on ... the software publisher's Facebook page. And I do like being able to participate in family and friends' lives asynchronously. I'm not sure what it will take to delete my Fb account. But I haven't seen that yet, at least because I know that deleting Fb is far from the only thing I'd have to do to maintain more privacy.
Any technology can be abused, but that’s no reason to go Amish.
Once again, technology only enhances human behavior. Doesn't always make it better; it just magnifies it. Throwing one's Blackberry into a pond doesn't protect the thrower; it just poisons the fish and aquatic plants.
Idea: Delete your Facebook and get rid of your smart phone.
Queue the technology apologetics... now!
;)
But facebook keeps a ‘shadow profile’ based on your contact info even if you’ve never signed up. I suppose you could go all unabomber or something, but is it really worth the effort?
I knew about it before signing up for Facebook, but I still did because everybody is on there and I didn't want to be left behind.
If you use a smartphone or the internet, data of you is collected an analyzed. There is hardly anything you can do against it except going off grid.
Very disturbing stuff. Thanks for sharing this info. The good news is that it seems laws to regulate this data gathering are on the horizon. In Europe they've already released a few laws to limit Facebook and Google's power.
ToomuchStuff
5-22-18, 1:01am
Very disturbing stuff. Thanks for sharing this info. The good news is that it seems laws to regulate this data gathering are on the horizon. In Europe they've already released a few laws to limit Facebook and Google's power.
And they will adapt:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7YvAYIJSSZY
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