Facebook is really creepy

January 22, 2018, 05:59 PM

P220 Smudge

quote:
Originally posted by Spokane228:
I haven’t visited these pages. I made the fake account to get away from them.

I never added a mobile number. If they pulled it off my phone somehow.... creepy.

Willing to bet that's the case. I never added my phone number to Facebook and last year, started getting suggestions to friend some business contacts I had made in Tacoma... their personal Facebook pages. My wife never met these people and hasn't gotten suggestions to friend them either.

If you had the app installed, my conclusion is that it was pulling contact info from the phone, since me entering a phone number and saving a contact was literally the only tie I had to some of these people and had zero overlap of friends.

January 22, 2018, 06:05 PM

ShouldBFishin

My fiancee and I have been noticing some creepy tin-foil hat type stuff lately too. I'm not sure quite what to pin this on yet - maybe Facebook or Google?

Here's an example:
A couple weeks ago I was searching for a "Coffee Roasting Basket" that I could roast my own beans over my gas grill. This was in my house over my Internet access. A few days later she was telling me that some odd things were showing up in her news feed (I still need to pin down what she's using for that) at her house. When I asked for an example she said "a Coffee Roasting Basket"...

I thought I had things locked down pretty well, but apparently I need to dig in further.

January 22, 2018, 06:05 PM

Orguss

If you use the facebook app on your phone, I have a sneaking suspicion it accesses your contact list.

"I'm yet another resource-consuming kid in an overpopulated planet raised to an alarming extent by Hollywood and Madison Avenue, poised with my cynical and alienated peers to take over the world when you're old and weak!" - Calvin, "Calvin & Hobbes"

January 22, 2018, 06:05 PM

Tommydogg

They are reading your mind!

January 22, 2018, 06:11 PM

FishOn

Hell yes, FB is creepy. I have never been on Facebook, and everything I am reading tells me I made the right decision. The same goes for Amazon Alexa. Why let those people invade your privacy?

It is just not worth it. Everything is recorded, and is used to sell your personal information. Who knows where your info ends up? You sign away all of your rights when you click "OK" on the user agreement. As said here on Sig Forum many times, if you can not tell what the product is, YOU are the product. Nothing is "free".

January 22, 2018, 06:15 PM

RAMIUS

I always figured it was due to location. When I hang out with friends of friends, I eventually see those "acquaintances" on Facebook asking if I want to be "friends".

I googled, "How does Facebook know who I know?"

Plenty of articles on it. Here's one:

https://www.forbes.com/sites/c...eepier/#37fc3dd35f5a

January 22, 2018, 06:17 PM

Belgian Blue

On Netflix a while back, there was a documentary called "Terms and Conditions May Apply". It's worth watching. The up shot was how that disclaimer we all pretty much ignore anytime we want to use a service or device gives that service a lot of access to personal info. most people don't realize.

They had a hidden camera with Zuckerberg. He basically said something to the affect "All these people on my website don't realize I'm selling all their personal info. Dumb Fucks."

I never mess with Facebook or Twitter. Just not worth it to me. Yeah, I know Para can find out what he wants about members here, but I trust him a hell of a lot more than the Zuck.

January 22, 2018, 06:42 PM

Icabod

Looking at the "people you may know" list are any unknown to your wife? If FB was pulling data from her device, those people shoudn't be on it.
In my case I have some Army buddies she's never met or had any contact with. If they show up, it's clear FB is downloading from my devices.

January 22, 2018, 06:55 PM

oddball

quote:
Originally posted by FishOn:
Hell yes, FB is creepy. I have never been on Facebook, and everything I am reading tells me I made the right decision. The same goes for Amazon Alexa. Why let those people invade your privacy?

It is just not worth it. Everything is recorded, and is used to sell your personal information. Who knows where your info ends up? You sign away all of your rights when you click "OK" on the user agreement. As said here on Sig Forum many times, if you can not tell what the product is, YOU are the product. Nothing is "free".

My opinion as well.

January 22, 2018, 07:06 PM

vulrath

I have deliberately refrained from installing the Facebook app on my phone, despite their best efforts to force me onto it (e.g. taking mobile messaging away unless you use Messenger). They also don't have my phone number or address.

A few years ago they also did a major crackdown on people using pseudonyums. I actually know a guy whose account got suspended until he uploaded a photo ID proving he was using his birth name.

Honestly, if it wasn't for a few good friends and some family I have deemed to be worthy of keeping up with, I'd have probably dumped my account years ago.

January 22, 2018, 07:43 PM

GA Gator

I think Facebook was created by Dick Chaney and the NSA.

I think the conversation went something like this.

NSA: Dick we have an app...

Dick: What's an app?

NSA: it's a computer software for mobile device.. never mind it's not important.

NSA: with this app Americans will tell us their political beliefs, sexual orientation, where they eat, what they eat, who they associate with, what kind of car they drive, how many children they have what their children like to do, where they travel to, when they travel, if they believe in God, what music they like, if they drink alcohol,

Dick: okay, okay I get it it's a spy program. So how do we force people to input this data.

NSA: that's the great part Americans will sign up and do it all on their own....

Dick: Great get it done.

April 10, 2018, 06:09 PM

FishOn

Just delete Facebook. Do it. You can work around the social/family issues. Facebook is a surveillance company. I have never had a Facebook account and I will never have Amazon Alexa in my home. Have you listened to Zuckerburg? Holy crap.

Facebook sold/gave-up your personal data, including your PMs. Wake up to this. Facebook is the enemy if you care about your privacy.

And I can pretty much guarantee that Facebook is against 2-A.

April 10, 2018, 06:43 PM

Jimbo54

This is great. Cruz torches Zuckerburg about Facebooks liberal bias.

http://www.foxnews.com/politic...ative-targeting.html

Jim

April 10, 2018, 06:45 PM

ensigmatic

quote:
Originally posted by Spokane228:
I’ve bailed on Facebook in terms of my family and friends. Just too much of a pain.

But Facebook is a useful aggregator of people and products. So I made a fake account. Finally, Facebook is adding some value.

Then...

I start getting “people you may know” links.

I always assumed those "people you may know" suggestions were derived as a function of "friends of friends" analysis. E.g.: I'm friended with Bob. Bob is friended with Jane. FB assumes maybe I, too, know Jane.

"America is at that awkward stage. It's too late to work within the system,,,, but too early to shoot the bastards." -- Claire Wolfe
"If we let things terrify us, life will not be worth living." -- Seneca the Younger, Roman Stoic philosopher

April 10, 2018, 06:54 PM

tatortodd

I’m betting the OP is using the Facebook app. That thing was creepy as hell when I stopped using it 7 or 8 years ago. It was GD spyware and imagine it’s gotten creepier.

I only use FB through a browser and only time it gets my location is when I checkin as I’m leaving a place I like (eg restaurant)

April 10, 2018, 06:58 PM

Deqlyn

Facebook listens in on your stuff gents. Just look under the permissions.

April 10, 2018, 07:17 PM

DaBigBR

quote:
Originally posted by Spokane228:
I’ve bailed on Facebook in terms of my family and friends. Just too much of a pain.

But Facebook is a useful aggregator of people and products. So I made a fake account. Finally, Facebook is adding some value.

Then...

I start getting “people you may know” links. And about a third of them are friends and relatives. WTF? I gave the app no access to location services.

Did some digging. It looks like Facebook is using an algorithm via Bluetooth to send packets to other devices running the app. In other words, I’m in the same room as my wife. Based on the amount of time we spend together, we must know each other pretty well. It suggests people she knows to me.

I can’t prove any of this. But I can’t think of any reason those people would have come up as suggestions.

Can you imagine what Alexa is listening for?

I read an article a while back about an escort who was starting to see clients pop up as people she may know on her personal Facebook.

April 10, 2018, 07:36 PM

lastmanstanding

Never been a Facebook or My Space, Twitter, Instagram, Snap Chat,user Google I quit using awhile back when I discovered Duck Duck Go.

Even having not participated in any of these I still suspect plenty of my info is out there. I'm guessing for the people who use all these medias you have no secrets at all.

April 10, 2018, 09:13 PM

Graniteguy

quote:
Originally posted by gjgalligan:
What is a VPN?

Virtual Private Network.

April 11, 2018, 08:34 AM

BamaJeepster

I've gotta say it was hilarious seeing some of the absolutely stupid, asinine questions asked by clueless Senators who probably can't even use a flip phone, let alone understand how Facebook works.