Facebook: also uses data from Super Market membership cards

After the scandal Facebook Cambridge Analytica, we remembered that the largest social network monitors us and collects our data. Mr. Mark Zuckerberg was called for a hearing at the United States Congress, and continued with the rhetoric that we have known for years:

Your information is not available to third parties and is used only for advertising purposes. I have the responsibility as a CEO and I will fix things.

But where Facebook collects the information it uses to serve us ads, or after the CA scandal, we can say with confidence that it also uses it for distribution to third parties. Of course we do not expect that at some point he will admit it. Fortunately, scandals like the one in CA, come to show us what is coming tomorrow…

The new social network page that explains where the data is derived states:

We use information from various sources, such as those outlined below, to decide which ads may be useful to you.

Activity in Facebook apps and services

One of the key factors that lets us know which ads you might want to see is your activity in the Facebook family of apps and services. Your activity includes, among others:

• The Pages Like You and Your Friends
• Information from your Facebook and Instagram profiles
• The locations where you share your presence through Facebook

See your advertising preferences

Below we briefly report all data sources that Facebook uses to stop the information you share with businesses:

Data are given by those who:

• They have seen a website that uses the Facebook pixel
• They have downloaded their mobile app
• They have made a purchase (or have just added a product to the shopping cart)
• They have seen their ad settings

Data are obtained from various sources such as:

• Where you connect to the Internet (via IP address on computers, tablets and mobile).
• How you use your mobile (via GPS and Location Services).
• Your location from your Facebook and Instagram profiles.

And for those who do not have a Facebook account and think they have managed to keep their anonymity, the following paragraph comes:

Information you share with businesses

When you share a business with information such as your phone number or email address, the business can add this information to a list of clients that can be assigned to your Facebook profile. Such information may come from, amongst others, the following sources:

• Customer loyalty programs (e.g., supermarket membership card)
• Information gathered by data providers
• Shopping in retail stores

Please note that the customer lists listed above give each interested person a very complete profile for each consumer. The consumer is evaluated and classified. Of course, all data is collected on huge bases and will not be lost.

Those who are interested and want to know more about these lists and how accurate they can be for advertisers can read more than here.