So,cowboy eroticism you've restricted the information advertisers can see on your Facebook profile, but you're still getting served near-perfect ads? It could be down to your shadow profile.
At some stage you might've given your phone number to Facebook for two-factor authentication, or a friend may have given your email away in the contact importer, in an attempt to find friends on the platform.
Those phone numbers or emails might not be visible on one's profile, but they sit in a hidden layer which is called a shadow profile.
SEE ALSO: Facebook Pages can now join Facebook GroupsAdvertisers are able to use this hidden layer of personal information to target you with ads, as outlined in a Gizmodo report.
All advertisers need to do is upload the phone numbers and email addresses they've collected to Facebook. Most of us don't think about giving these details away when you're purchasing something from an online store, or say, signing up to a political campaign.
Facebook calls this a custom audience, and allows advertisers to sell to people they know are already interested in their product or service.
What's unsettling is that advertisers can seemingly target people who have supplied their phone number to Facebook, thinking it would only be used for security reasons, or have no knowledge of their contact details being given away at all.
A study cited by the report saw researchers from Northwestern University test if Facebook was using shadow contact info by uploading hundreds of landline phone numbers from the college.
A landline number is information that is unlikely to be added to one's profile, but likely would've sat dormant in one's personal contacts, only to be uploaded to Facebook by users looking for friends.
The study found many of these numbers could be used for ad targeting, culminating in an ad showing up in the news feed of one of the researchers on the paper, Alan Mislove.
Facebook didn't reject the study's findings, with a spokesperson explaining via email: "We use the information people provide to offer a better, more personalized experience on Facebook, including ads. We are clear about how we use the information we collect, including the contact information that people upload or add to their own accounts. You can manage and delete the contact information you've uploaded at any time."
What the report reveals is that Facebook is perhaps not transparent enough when it comes to handling data that isn't publicly available on your profile, culminating in near-psychic advertising, and creepily on point suggestions for people you may know.
UPDATE: Sept. 27, 2018, 6:07 p.m. AEST Added comment from Facebook.
Topics Facebook Privacy Social Media
How to unblock Xnxx for free
On Threads, users say they're flooded with pro
Cooking with Italo Calvino by Valerie Stivers
Tesla lowers range estimates for Model Y, S, X cars
Cyrix: Gone But Not Forgotten
Staff Picks: Haiku, Hearts, and Homes by The Paris Review
Editing Justice Ginsburg by David Ebershoff
When Murakami Came to the States by David Karashima
Swole Jeff Bezos joins Instagram to tease his new ROCKET FACTORY
Wait! What Year Is This? by Rich Cohen
Best water flosser deal: Save $10 on Waterpik Cordless Pulse
Redux: Each Rustle, Each Step by The Paris Review
The Art of Distance No. 23 by The Paris Review
The Art of Distance No. 23 by The Paris Review
Assassin's Creed Origins: How Heavy is It on Your CPU?
Return by Jill Talbot
Six Young Women with Prize
A Medieval Mother Tries Distance Learning by Esther Liberman Cuenca
The best early Prime Day outdoor deals: Yeti, Stanley, Jackery, and more
Staff Picks: Rats, Rereaders, and Radio Towers by The Paris Review
Jim Carrey defends Kathy Griffin, says comedians are 'last voice of truth'The NBA is a cold business, a story in 2 tweets'ARMS' kicks ass while embracing its weirdness'House of Cards' throws shade at Theresa May for ducking UK debateBesides asking Bixby to call your mom, now you can send her money, tooWalmart has employees deliver packages on their way home from work'Sharknado 5' just got a perfectly terrible title and taglineDear smartphone companies, please give us smaller phoneseBay cracks down on ticket resellers trying to make a profit from Manchester tragedyBumble is opening an IRL hive where you can meet your datesAustin mayor has the perfect response to man mad about womenHow to watch Ariana Grande's Manchester benefit concertKirsten Dunst has all the shade to throw at 'SpiderSoon you'll be able to visit the world of 'My Neighbor Totoro' for realeBay cracks down on ticket resellers trying to make a profit from Manchester tragedySerena Williams swears Venus didn't reveal the gender of her baby with Alexis OhanionSpelling Bee winning word gets the whole internet Googling what on earth 'marocain' is6 innovations that help artists control their environment'ARMS' kicks ass while embracing its weirdnessGoogle's plans for their new London HQ are the most epically Google yet A Space Cowboy’s Curriculum Ode to the Library Museum by Erica X Eisen Redux: In Dire Straits by The Paris Review The Radical Notion of a Smartphone Organized Chaos: An Interview with Jeff VanderMeer The Philosopher of the Firework by Skye C. Cleary and John Kaag 44 early Cyber Monday headphone deals: AirPods Pro at record How Like the Mind It Is by Ellen O’Connell Whittet Early Cyber Monday Kindle deals: Kindle Scribe at its lowest price ever Redux: Greetings from America by The Paris Review The Hardest Guess Redux: Snared By Sin by The Paris Review Target's sale is live — check out the deals ahead of Cyber Monday YouTuber accuses Casetify of stealing designs 3 ways to improve your child's mindfulness The Art of Spooning Staff Picks: Creek Boyz, Mechanical Chickens, and Trash Heaps by The Paris Review A Life of Reading Is Never Lonely Cyber Monday streaming deals on Hulu, Peacock, Max, and more BeReal introduces new features to draw users back to the platform
3.4535s , 10195.78125 kb
Copyright © 2025 Powered by 【cowboy eroticism】,Feast Information Network