• After 15+ years, we've made a big change: Android Forums is now Early Bird Club. Learn more here.

Do you still use Facebook? Why?!

I would agree with that. But to get back to the point about your information being shared by Facebook - yes it happens, and their whole business model is based on targeting you with relevant ads. Are they alone in this? No, you get bombarded with ads by other websites, and if your browser cookies are accessible then it's a piece of cake for them to snoop your history.
But what fb has done goes way beyond that. They've done egregious, covert actions their users were completely unaware of. To say nothing of their horrible lack of security.

Damn, just the fact that they stored passwords as plain text employees could read at will would have me running! :eek:
 
Upvote 0
But what fb has done goes way beyond that. They've done egregious, covert actions their users were completely unaware of. To say nothing of their horrible lack of security.

Damn, just the fact that they stored passwords as plain text employees could read at will would have me running! :eek:

Exactly. There is sharing for commercial purposes, sharing for nefarious purposes, and just not showing proper respect for the security of their members. In my opinion Facebook gets a big "F" on the last two.

As convenient as it may be, I just cannot justify aiding and abetting an organization that blatantly commits treason and other egregious activities with the profits they make from my personal info.
 
  • Like
Reactions: MoodyBlues
Upvote 0
So, how 'bout the unprecedented $5 BILLION fine the FTC has slapped facebook with for its privacy breaches?

Yeah, yeah, I know, it's but a drop in the bucket for them, but it still makes a statement that what they've done is not okay. Maybe it'll serve as impetus for other cyberspace companies to ramp up their own privacy and security measures.

And don't forget: #DeleteFacebook :D
 
Upvote 0
The thing that really squeezes my ballz about these data breaches? A regulator steps in, investigates and stings the company with a multimillion pound fine. Great.. however the end user, you know the one that lost their data gets not a penny!!! Where exactly does this money go?? Surely if it is our data that's been breached we are the ones that need to be compensated?

This is how it works in the UK, not sure of the US. :mad:
 
Upvote 0
The thing that really squeezes my ballz about these data breaches? A regulator steps in, investigates and stings the company with a multimillion pound fine. Great.. however the end user, you know the one that lost their data gets not a penny!!! Where exactly does this money go?? Surely if it is our data that's been breached we are the ones that need to be compensated?

This is how it works in the UK, not sure of the US. :mad:

I take your point there, the people who lost the data should be compensated, seems only fair. But I would hope the money goes to funding the regulator in some way, so they can do a better job of stopping data breaches in the first place.
 
Upvote 0
I take your point there, the people who lost the data should be compensated, seems only fair. But I would hope the money goes to funding the regulator in some way, so they can do a better job of stopping data breaches in the first place.
Yes a % of the fine should go to the regulator to fund their costs. However they will never stop the data breaches only to better inform company's. Problem is with so much cash injection they keep growing and become a bloated over funded whale and at some point screwup and end up being shut down to the detriment to 'us'.

Little bit like self regulation, never works. Just an easy out of lazy governments.
 
Upvote 0
Where exactly does this money go?? Surely if it is our data that's been breached we are the ones that need to be compensated?
In some cases, it does. At least in some form.

For example, when the Anthem Blue Cross breach happened, part of the fine was paying for various services, such as credit monitoring, for a set time (one year, if memory serves) for all of their customers.

I don't know if any of the $5 billion fine fb has been slapped with will go to its users, but even if it did, it would only be pennies.

I'll never understand why people are okay with the egregious things fb has done, both knowingly and otherwise. I have to assume they either don't know the scope of it...or don't care.
 
Upvote 0
I'll never understand why people are okay with the egregious things fb has done, both knowingly and otherwise. I have to assume they either don't know the scope of it...or don't care.

I don't know the extent of it, and I don't really care. They aren't the only ones monetising personal user information. To have total privacy, you'd need to completely abstain from using the Internet. I just accept that if someone wants to know about me, or what I'm doing, they can. If someone is interested in my boring little life, then they're welcome to waste their time. ;)
What I am very careful about though is sensitive information like banking details and associated passwords. I wouldn't ever let FB have those.
 
Upvote 0
I don't know the extent of it, and I don't really care. They aren't the only ones monetising personal user information. To have total privacy, you'd need to completely abstain from using the Internet. I just accept that if someone wants to know about me, or what I'm doing, they can. If someone is interested in my boring little life, then they're welcome to waste their time. ;)
What I am very careful about though is sensitive information like banking details and associated passwords. I wouldn't ever let FB have those.
But what about the data you are happy to share that get slurrped up to target you so as to change your option or view on a subject or person such as what Cambridge Analytica did? That is dangerous stuff when a subversive organisation is changing opinions through what could be lies and misinformation to cast doubt in people's minds. :oops:
 
  • Like
Reactions: MoodyBlues
Upvote 0
In some cases, it does. At least in some form.

For example, when the Anthem Blue Cross breach happened, part of the fine was paying for various services, such as credit monitoring, for a set time (one year, if memory serves) for all of their customers.

I don't know if any of the $5 billion fine fb has been slapped with will go to its users, but even if it did, it would only be pennies.

I'll never understand why people are okay with the egregious things fb has done, both knowingly and otherwise. I have to assume they either don't know the scope of it...or don't care.
For sure, the TalkTalk breach a few years ago here in the UK did the same, you got free fraud cover for a year.. whoop, after which you have to pay. This is one thing the company really fell short of and are still paying for it now. They use to be the largest ISP in the UK, but have dropped a huge amount of customers because of the breach.
 
  • Like
Reactions: MoodyBlues
Upvote 0
I don't know the extent of it, and I don't really care. They aren't the only ones monetising personal user information. To have total privacy, you'd need to completely abstain from using the Internet. I just accept that if someone wants to know about me, or what I'm doing, they can. If someone is interested in my boring little life, then they're welcome to waste their time. ;)
What I am very careful about though is sensitive information like banking details and associated passwords. I wouldn't ever let FB have those.
Mine is extremely boring, anyways who wants to read my huge novel anyways? :)
Maybe bad people will take it out of contact and use it anyways they want (Looks at Marvel's AOS. Beepholes.)
 
Upvote 0
I don't know the extent of it, and I don't really care.
I do, and I do! :)

Just wondering, did you read the OP--and its links? If none of that bothers you, great! But it sure does bother me.

No matter how mundane my life may be--and that's plenty!--the idea that Big Brother is literally watching my every move is just not okay with me. The hypothetical me, since the actual me long ago kissed fb goodbye.

Clicking a facebook 'like' button on xyz.com shouldn't result in fb then following my every move online, and sharing that information with unknown-to-me third parties--but it does.

I guess I don't have to understand why some aren't bothered by that and the plethora of other covert, devious things fb does, it's certainly not my business, but it does confound me. :thinking:
 
Upvote 0
I just read this article about the fb and Equifax privacy breaches, and suggest you read it, too.

Among other things, it tells us that we're entitled to--but Equifax doesn't expect most people to claim--$125 or 10 years of credit monitoring, and how to go about getting it.

It also references a new California law that will give residents various protections regarding our personal info.

The article also says: “Zuckerberg and associates escaping personal liability means they’ll do it again,” said Chris Hoofnagle, a privacy expert at UC Berkeley. “The lesson from recent events is that there is no real accountability for Facebook.” How do you like them apples?!
 
Upvote 0
But what about the data you are happy to share that get slurrped up to target you so as to change your option or view on a subject or person such as what Cambridge Analytica did? That is dangerous stuff when a subversive organisation is changing opinions through what could be lies and misinformation to cast doubt in people's minds. :oops:

It's possible, but these days whenever I read something, I always ask myself, what is the agenda of the person writing it? What's their bias? Not always easy to spot though, I admit. But who do you trust to give you impartial and objective information?
My point is that we're influenced in countless ways by different people/organisations. Facebook are certainly not alone in trying to collect our information and passing it on to other people who may want to influence us.
 
  • Like
Reactions: JAy3001
Upvote 0
Among other things, it tells us that we're entitled to--but Equifax doesn't expect most people to claim--$125 or 10 years of credit monitoring, and how to go about getting it.
Additionally, the Equifax site also tells you if your data was breached. Now if I can trust them, mine wasn't.
 
  • Like
Reactions: MoodyBlues
Upvote 0
Data breeches are one thing.

Using data mining to rig an election in the US or any other semi-democracy is unquestionably wrong. And it's wrong whether they rig it for either the candidate I like or the candidate I don't like.

By staying on facebook it says I approve of election cheating in a democracy. Those are not my personal values. By being on facebook means they are my personal values. So I quit facebook and deleted my data before I left.

If you stay on FB and your children cheat on an exam and get caught, or your spouse cheats on you in a sexual tryst, you have obviously approved of others cheating, so thank them for doing what you obviously support.

That's the way I see it.
 
  • Like
Reactions: MoodyBlues
Upvote 0
Data breeches are one thing.

Using data mining to rig an election in the US or any other semi-democracy is unquestionably wrong. And it's wrong whether they rig it for either the candidate I like or the candidate I don't like.

By staying on facebook it says I approve of election cheating in a democracy. Those are not my personal values. By being on facebook means they are my personal values. So I quit facebook and deleted my data before I left.

If you stay on FB and your children cheat on an exam and get caught, or your spouse cheats on you in a sexual tryst, you have obviously approved of others cheating, so thank them for doing what you obviously support.

That's the way I see it.
Bravo! Excellent points.
 
Upvote 0
Additionally, the Equifax site also tells you if your data was breached. Now if I can trust them, mine wasn't.
...and mine was:

Screenshot_20190726-101538.png


I'm off to file a claim...
 
  • Like
Reactions: Unforgiven
Upvote 0
...and it's done. Very painless process.

I opted for the $125. The 10-year monitoring thing is kind of a moot point for me. In 2014 or 2015, my credit was compromised. The person who did it didn't hack into anything, they used the info on one of my cards and [somehow] managed to open multiple credit cards in my name. They weren't terribly bright, however!

One day I received mail from American Express; I could feel a card in it, and I knew neither of my accounts was due a new card, so I thought WTF? I opened it--and there was a Gold card with a 'welcome to your new American Express Gold Card' letter. I knew I had neither applied for, nor accepted a pre-approved offer for, another card. So first I called AmEx and got some info, then I took a better look at the name/address block on the letter: in the second address line, under my address, was the address of the moron who'd done this! Apparently, they thought it would be mailed to them, not me. :rolleyes:

Anyway, I immediately froze my info at the three major credit bureaus so this couldn't happen again, and they're still frozen. Plus I have CreditKarma and WalletHub which I routinely check, and they and most of my cards monitor and alert for any suspicious activity. But what a pain!
 
Upvote 0
...and it's done. Very painless process.

I opted for the $125. The 10-year monitoring thing is kind of a moot point for me. In 2014 or 2015, my credit was compromised. The person who did it didn't hack into anything, they used the info on one of my cards and [somehow] managed to open multiple credit cards in my name. They weren't terribly bright, however!

One day I received mail from American Express; I could feel a card in it, and I knew neither of my accounts was due a new card, so I thought WTF? I opened it--and there was a Gold card with a 'welcome to your new American Express Gold Card' letter. I knew I had neither applied for, nor accepted a pre-approved offer for, another card. So first I called AmEx and got some info, then I took a better look at the name/address block on the letter: in the second address line, under my address, was the address of the moron who'd done this! Apparently, they thought it would be mailed to them, not me. :rolleyes:

Anyway, I immediately froze my info at the three major credit bureaus so this couldn't happen again, and they're still frozen. Plus I have CreditKarma and WalletHub which I routinely check, and they and most of my cards monitor and alert for any suspicious activity. But what a pain!

lol, I already have motioning from the other 3 breaches I have been part of! lol

Thanks for this, I just filed mine for me and the wife as well. And I submitted 8 hours for both of us for all the calls and BS I did once this happened.
 
Upvote 0
lol, I already have motioning from the other 3 breaches I have been part of! lol

Thanks for this, I just filed mine for me and the wife as well. And I submitted 8 hours for both of us for all the calls and BS I did once this happened.
You're welcome. :)

I couldn't claim any hours because of what I described earlier. But it's good that for those who did spend time, like you, they're being held accountable for it.

Now if only the same could be said of facebook...
 
  • Like
Reactions: NightAngel79
Upvote 0

BEST TECH IN 2023

We've been tracking upcoming products and ranking the best tech since 2007. Thanks for trusting our opinion: we get rewarded through affiliate links that earn us a commission and we invite you to learn more about us.

Smartphones