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Study: Deleting Facebook won't protect your privacy

Author
Newstalk ZB,
Publish Date
Fri, 12 Apr 2019, 12:50PM
Giving Facebook access to your account means they can tell a lot about you. (Photo / Getty)

Study: Deleting Facebook won't protect your privacy

Author
Newstalk ZB,
Publish Date
Fri, 12 Apr 2019, 12:50PM

Recent events have seen calls to delete Facebook reach a fever pitch - but will that actually protect your privacy?

A University of Vermont study has found Facebook and Twitter know your interests to a 95 percent accuracy based on your friends, even once you leave the sites.

Mathematician James Bagrow, who led the research, told Kate Hawkesby your friends provide a very significant amount of useful information about you.

"So even if you opt out, Facebook doesn't have access to your data, but they can still tell quite a bit about you from your social ties."

Bagrow says the information includes political affiliation, interest in sports or anything you'd use to create an advertising profile.

The study has also found that if you give Facebook access to your address book, it has all your contacts, not just Facebook friends.

Bagrow says that means a company like Facebook can start connecting the dots.

"And I think when many people opt in to share that, they don't necessarily realise that they'be affected all of these people who may have concerns about being involved in that data collection."

 

 

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