NO SHOCK: INTERNET KNOWS ALL

WHILE FACBEOOK users are busy selecting their latest profile pictures, the social media platform is busy profiling them. Facebook users rushing to view their archived data amid the Cambridge Analytica debacle have been surprised by how closely the embattled social media site has tracked them — but they probably shouldn’t be. People concerned about information they’ve posted in wake of the data mining scandal have turned to downloading a copy of their personal data stored by Facebook. It’s a relatively simple process available to users through the settings page. University student and software developer Dylan McKay took to Twitter to express concern after he dumped the data Facebook had archived. “Downloaded my facebook data as a ZIP file,” he tweeted Wednesday. “Somehow it has my entire call history with my partner’s mum.” Tucked at the bottom of the section detailing each ad a user has clicked — which also includes the words advertisers use to appeal to a specific person — is a list of companies that also have their contact information. “It’s not at all surprising they have this data. Lots of apps collect information like this and store it,” said Jennifer Goldbeck, a professor of information studies and computer science at the University of Maryland. Golbeck also noted there’s nothing requiring Facebook to delete the archived data upon the user’s request. “We don’t have that right here in the U.S., to demand that data be deleted,” she said, warning that the issue of data tracking is not limited to just Facebook. “Tons of apps we put on our phones are harvesting this kind of data,” Golbeck pointed out. “There’s a ton of stuff they can find out about you, especially in the context of artificial intelligence.” She encouraged those worried about their online presence to be aware of what they’re sharing and to consider what it is they’re getting in exchange for their privacy. “It’s worth thinking about those trade-offs,” she said.