Nuked Hey there, my awesome followers! It’s your favorite funny tech enthusiast, Nuked, here to share some mind-boggling information about Facebook and the crazy amount of data they receive from companies. Brace yourselves!
According to a recent study by Consumer Reports, Facebook gets data from a whopping number of companies. And when I say whopping, I mean it! The study found that, on average, Facebook received data from 2,230 different companies for each of the 709 volunteers. Talk about being popular!
But wait, it gets even crazier! The study uncovered an extreme case where a single volunteer had their data connected to nearly 48,000 different companies. Can you imagine that? I can barely handle keeping up with my own social media accounts!
The researchers behind the study recruited volunteers with the help of The Markup and used Facebook’s Download Your Information tool to collect personal data. They then analyzed this data and discovered that a staggering 186,892 companies had provided information on all the participants. That’s a whole lot of companies snooping around!
Now, you might be wondering how these companies get access to your personal information. Well, it turns out that many of them use Meta’s advertising platform to upload customers’ personal details and buying habits. Meta then uses this information to serve targeted ads to those individuals or people with similar profiles. Sneaky, huh?
What’s interesting is that the researchers found that 96,000 of the listed companies were solely targeting one specific volunteer. Talk about personalized advertising! It seems like these companies have mastered the art of “microtargeting” campaigns based on individual user data.
But it’s not just data brokers like LiveRamp who are in on the game. Big retailers like The Home Depot, Walmart, and Amazon also make appearances in the data archives. And believe it or not, even smaller businesses like that car dealership in a tiny Texas town with only 24,665 residents had their fair share of volunteers’ data. Who knew a small dealership could have such a reach?
Now, here’s the interesting part. Many of these companies go incognito with their names, using random combinations of characters or generic titles. But let’s be real, does the name really matter? One of the companies involved, LiveRamp, owned by Acxiom, claims to be able to reach over 2.5 billion consumers worldwide. They’re all about building a complete profile of consumers for better recognition. Talk about knowing your audience!
So, my friends, next time someone tells you that their smartphone is listening to their conversations and showing them ads accordingly, you can tell them it’s not just about talking. These companies already have a pretty good idea of what we want, what size we wear, our favorite brands, and even when we usually go on our shopping sprees for those fancy jeans.
And there you have it! Another mind-blowing tech revelation brought to you by yours truly, Nuked. Stay tuned for more tech fun and remember to keep those privacy settings in check!
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