Finally Facebook reveals how it keeps track of its 800
million users. USA Today interviewed with Facebook engineering director Arturo
Bejar and he explained how Facebook uses tracking-cookie technology to tracks
its user’s internet activities.
According to Facebook, it is a technology similar to systems used by the rest of the online advertising industry. Here are the full details how this system works:
1. When for the first
time you open a Facebook page, it inserts two browser cookies into your web
browser. One is Browser Cookie and the other one is Session Cookie. If you
signed up for a new account, Facebook inserts these two cookies at the same
time but if you are a non-member who visit a Facebook page get a browser cookie
only.
The company says Facebooke distinguishes between users as
members who have signed in, members who have logged of and non-members.
2. In the time you creating a new account, the browser
cookie and session cookie will be inserted to your web browser. When you are
logged in, the session cookie is activates. The session cookie tracks following
information:
A. User Profile Data
Name, email address, list of friends, user preference, via
Like buttons.
B. Unique Data
IP address, screen resolution, operating system, browser
version.
C. Time Stamp
Time, date and each URL visited that uses a Facebook
plug-in.
3. If you are non-member and visiting facebook for the first
time or browsing the facebooke (when you are logged out) but not in your
account, the browser identifier cookie activates. What it tracks:
A. Alphanumeric Number
A number unique to the cookie, no personal information is
retrieved.
B. unique Data
IP address, screen resolution, operating system, browser
version.
C. Time Stamp
Time, date and each URL visited that uses a Facebook
plug-in.
4. What Facebooks says about uses for tracking data?
A. Bosting Security
Tracking logs help Facebook identify and block faked
accounts, phishing scams and viral web links.
B. Enhance user experience
Logs help to improve the display and usability of Like
button and other plug-in services on third party websites.
C. Generating ad revenue
At this time, Facebook does not use tracking logs to target
ads to specific individuals. Sponsored ads that appear on Facebook.com are
directed to members’ attention based on self-disclosed profile information and
preferences expressed by clicking Like buttons.
All tracking information and logs are collected from past 90
days of user activities and the older logs will be deleted automatically.
According to Mashable and USA TODAY, these collected data
(user web searches and browsing) by Facebook could be used to figure out
political affiliations, religious beliefs, sexual orientations or health issues
about consumers.
“This type of correlation doesn’t seem to be happening on a wide scales, but the concern of some privacy advocates is that selling data could become a tempting business proposition- both to social networks like Facebook and online advertising players such as Google, Microsoft and Yahoo that similarly employ cookie tracking techniques.”
In my opinion does not matter that if Facebook uses these data
for improving security levels (that is what they are saying) or for online
commerce, it is absolutely violating users’ privacy. What is your opinion?
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