Some years ago when Facebook launched they were not so bad. As time went on, they joined the older crew (Yahoo and Google - And MSN, now Bing or whatever they're going by on their 4th or 5th attempt of being search engine and / or profile system) in allowing website owners to use their already logged-in customers, to tap into that data and quickly register for an account with a forum, or holiday review website, or feedback website, or whatever.
Now recently they've been fined the biggest ever fine in the USA (a drop in the ocean) and issued gagging orders to news companies (and purposely made court cases last a lot longer than they need to by repeatedly appealing, costing tax payers millions, so that news can't report on those cases as they're still not finalised) to that the new isn't getting out.
I'm surprised we are still seeing demonstrations about brexit and the environment when we have these companies still running. And continuing to do what they promised they wouldn't.
When you used to connect to your facebook account via the forum, we got a bit of data that we needed. So email address, name (you could change it to a username, but not everybody did) and you'd need to set a password.
Some other boxes like male or female would automatically get filled in. And that's pretty much where it stopped from our side we didn't need to know much else.
Yet facebook was then compiling data via that service to collate posting patterns, shopping habits, time you spend online, and a thousands other things. Not cool on its own.
But then it sold that data to companies, that even governments use to target ads.
So the Cambridge Analytica scandal was our UK doing it. That's what caused the vote to sway to push for a brexit. But government voting worldwide was being used the same. Sometimes like with russia, they pay for massive amounts of fake news (A term not coined by myself, it's spam, always has been in my eyes) to be spread around social sites.
Plebs like us (not me anymore I don't use social media sites - and would urge you not to, and certainly take control of your kids accounts they don't know what they're giving away when they sign up to tiktok or visco and things) spread that news. And that then gives them more data to sell and target with newer advertisers.
Now I've just looked, before I close my facebook down, what I can buy as an advertisers.
I can target not only each and every one of you, because you have visited my forum. I can target your children with separate ads - so as to get them mention things that then you might share because it has come from a source you trust.
I can then monitor that ad. And customise it to target who else you spread that news with. So your circles. I can then setup a new ad just for those, and then slate your beliefs in those ads.
It goes round and round and round.
I work in advertising. So understand the tools and stats. I'm registered as a devloper with both Google and Facebook. And have back-end tools to "test" (see what my outcome for an ad or app would be) so can even see the data without getting an ad slot booked.
Until Facebook learn how to be grown up and trustworthy. It is going to continue to cause wars. Actual real wars.
The annexing of Crimea was heavily corrupt and a massive part of it came from Russia paying way more than the Crimea government could have ever done, to target ads on VK (their version of Facebook that is almost state-owned).
So we don't use connected accounts now. And I don't want ever to again.
Personally, I'd urge you to triple check your security and privacy every month. Facebook change a setting, and refresh the rest while they do that, so while you KNOW you set it to NOT PUBLIC one day, they change it for you, and say in their terms that they do that, so it's okay.
It's shocking.
If it's a company in Silicone Valley. It's a cut-throat-company that will hit a market crash just like the banks and wall street did. It wont be very long either. Once all the court cases are over in a decade. I don't know what they will do then.
So, anyway, that's our reason behind removing all those connected accounts. If you had one, and didn't change your name at the time, you can message me or Lou and we will change your name/username to a unique username or nickname for you or whatever.
If anybody would like help in erasing their data from these big companies. Let me know.
If you'd like to see some of your shopping habits, or ones of your kids, let me know. I can link you to some Google pages that would make you think fuuuuuuuuuck how do they know that?!?!?!
These devices that are recording you, are making mistakes all the time. I have some links to those too if you want to check to see what data Google, Alexa, and all the others have.
Personally, I turn them all off. I don't wany anything recording me, using my data for anything but the service I signed up for it to provide me, and I'd never suddenly change this forum to start selling tools and then spam you will tools. You signed up to a forum, with some sponsors sure, but that's a whole business change that is. And that's what these companies are doing.
Please feel free to use this thread to discuss this kinda thing. Because we need to open some eyes on this.
Our forum developers tools reference this here: Upcoming changes for GDPR compliance in XF1 and XF2 - https://xenforo.com/community/threads/upcoming-changes-for-gdpr-compliance-in-xf1-and-xf2.146888/
Now recently they've been fined the biggest ever fine in the USA (a drop in the ocean) and issued gagging orders to news companies (and purposely made court cases last a lot longer than they need to by repeatedly appealing, costing tax payers millions, so that news can't report on those cases as they're still not finalised) to that the new isn't getting out.
I'm surprised we are still seeing demonstrations about brexit and the environment when we have these companies still running. And continuing to do what they promised they wouldn't.
When you used to connect to your facebook account via the forum, we got a bit of data that we needed. So email address, name (you could change it to a username, but not everybody did) and you'd need to set a password.
Some other boxes like male or female would automatically get filled in. And that's pretty much where it stopped from our side we didn't need to know much else.
Yet facebook was then compiling data via that service to collate posting patterns, shopping habits, time you spend online, and a thousands other things. Not cool on its own.
But then it sold that data to companies, that even governments use to target ads.
So the Cambridge Analytica scandal was our UK doing it. That's what caused the vote to sway to push for a brexit. But government voting worldwide was being used the same. Sometimes like with russia, they pay for massive amounts of fake news (A term not coined by myself, it's spam, always has been in my eyes) to be spread around social sites.
Plebs like us (not me anymore I don't use social media sites - and would urge you not to, and certainly take control of your kids accounts they don't know what they're giving away when they sign up to tiktok or visco and things) spread that news. And that then gives them more data to sell and target with newer advertisers.
Now I've just looked, before I close my facebook down, what I can buy as an advertisers.
I can target not only each and every one of you, because you have visited my forum. I can target your children with separate ads - so as to get them mention things that then you might share because it has come from a source you trust.
I can then monitor that ad. And customise it to target who else you spread that news with. So your circles. I can then setup a new ad just for those, and then slate your beliefs in those ads.
It goes round and round and round.
I work in advertising. So understand the tools and stats. I'm registered as a devloper with both Google and Facebook. And have back-end tools to "test" (see what my outcome for an ad or app would be) so can even see the data without getting an ad slot booked.
Until Facebook learn how to be grown up and trustworthy. It is going to continue to cause wars. Actual real wars.
The annexing of Crimea was heavily corrupt and a massive part of it came from Russia paying way more than the Crimea government could have ever done, to target ads on VK (their version of Facebook that is almost state-owned).
So we don't use connected accounts now. And I don't want ever to again.
Personally, I'd urge you to triple check your security and privacy every month. Facebook change a setting, and refresh the rest while they do that, so while you KNOW you set it to NOT PUBLIC one day, they change it for you, and say in their terms that they do that, so it's okay.
It's shocking.
If it's a company in Silicone Valley. It's a cut-throat-company that will hit a market crash just like the banks and wall street did. It wont be very long either. Once all the court cases are over in a decade. I don't know what they will do then.
So, anyway, that's our reason behind removing all those connected accounts. If you had one, and didn't change your name at the time, you can message me or Lou and we will change your name/username to a unique username or nickname for you or whatever.
If anybody would like help in erasing their data from these big companies. Let me know.
If you'd like to see some of your shopping habits, or ones of your kids, let me know. I can link you to some Google pages that would make you think fuuuuuuuuuck how do they know that?!?!?!
These devices that are recording you, are making mistakes all the time. I have some links to those too if you want to check to see what data Google, Alexa, and all the others have.
Personally, I turn them all off. I don't wany anything recording me, using my data for anything but the service I signed up for it to provide me, and I'd never suddenly change this forum to start selling tools and then spam you will tools. You signed up to a forum, with some sponsors sure, but that's a whole business change that is. And that's what these companies are doing.
Please feel free to use this thread to discuss this kinda thing. Because we need to open some eyes on this.
Our forum developers tools reference this here: Upcoming changes for GDPR compliance in XF1 and XF2 - https://xenforo.com/community/threads/upcoming-changes-for-gdpr-compliance-in-xf1-and-xf2.146888/
