- Facebook is adding more to its ‘Download Your Information’ tool available on the app and ‘Download Your Data’ tool available on Instagram.
- It will also show users some of the assumptions Facebook makes about them based on users’ Facebook activity.
- What caused the company to add more transparency to this aspect?
Facebook is taking steps to add more transparency to the aspect-how much it knows about you. In a blog post the social media giant revealed that the users will now be able to view and download the information which the platform gathers about them. The company is adding more its tool named ‘Download Your Information’ provided on the Facebook app. Similarly, the tool ‘Download Your Data’ is also being expanded which is available on Facebook’s sister app Instagram.
The addition to these tools will include more of the data the platform gathers when you are surfing through Facebook or Instagram. It also includes what changes you make to your profile, or what of pages or posts you like, or what types of groups who follow, etc. The platform uses this data to configure what type of posts you see on Facebook and Instagram. Your homepage feed is shown based on of this collected data. But there are some privacy concerns related to this.
The tool ‘Download Your Information’ available on Facebook will also reveal to the user some of the assumptions the platform makes about the user. For instance, it might be suggesting some cricket-related stuff because you shared the highlights of a cricket match with your friend previously. This also refers that the platform tracks what type of content you share with your friends and family members. Some users may not find it offensive but there are people out there who consider this to be an act of invading their privacy.
While on Instagram, the tool ‘Download Your Data’ will show you the categories that the platform has designated to specific accounts. These categories such as sports, fashion, animals, etc. are used to recommend content in the Explore tab of the Instagram app.
Users may not use this information much but it will be interesting for the users to view this gathered information. It will be interesting to see how Facebook and Instagram track your activity while using these platforms and the reason why a specific type of content appears on your home news feed.
Facebook also shared a detailed video on how it leverages Inferences to improve user experiences:
Facebook also made improvements to its transparency policy regarding the ads you are being shown last year. Users can now see the detailed reasons why a specific product or service is being advertised to the user.
The step may seem to be noble for the platform. But masses say that this step is taken by the platform after some regulations such as the ‘General Data Protection Regulation’ in Europe. These regulations also point out to the California Consumer Privacy Act. As some of the people suggest that Facebook does not care about the privacy of its users. The platform takes steps only when it is forced to do so.
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