Social media has revolutionized the way we communicate with others. Make it easier and more accessible. But they also have negative points. And that is, we often feel like they are “spying on”, so more and more people are interested. How to prevent Facebook and Instagram from snooping on your internet activity
How many times have you searched for information about a certain product and seen an advertisement on your social network? Of course there is more than one. Therefore, it seems clear that social networks receive information about us even if we are not aware of it. Let’s see if we can avoid it.
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So-called social media is free for users. But the companies behind these channels collect billions of dollars every year. The money that comes to them mostly comes from advertisements that appear on these platforms.
Companies realize that social networks have millions of users. And they are willing to pay to advertise on those networks. Because they know that their products or services will be known by the target audience. But in order to offer segmented advertising Social media must receive information from their users. And that is why they are interested in following our activities.
- Collection of personal information Basic information is obtained through information verified by users themselves: name, age, gender, location, interests, and even people with whom they have relationships.
- Track online activities in writing a consumer profile of a person The network monitors their interactions, link clicks, “likes” received, searches performed, etc.
- personal advertising A user’s reaction to the advertisements shown to them also serves as an indication of whether the person is interested in the product or service.
- sentiment analysis The most advanced algorithms incorporate artificial intelligence that can analyze the feelings or emotions people have about certain topics.
In principle The collection of data carried out by social networks is carried out in order to improve the user experience and provide more specialized services. however, There is increasing concern about the privacy and security of personal information. This convenience has led many to look for alternatives where they don’t feel like they’re being watched when using social channels.
How to prevent Facebook and Instagram from snooping on your internet activity
In fact, we ourselves are to some extent “guilty” that social networks have more and more information about us. This is because we do not take basic precautions or properly manage the privacy options that these channels provide us. However, in many cases Users themselves do not know that we can adjust privacy parameters. Because platforms like Facebook or Instagram don’t give us much information.
Our partners in protecting our privacy are both Facebook and Instagram (you already know that both are owned by Meta and have the same management in terms of data protection). It is an accounting center.
The Account Center is where users can manage their Meta social media experience. They have more control over the data Meta collects and analyzes to deliver personalized ads. When making adjustments These apply to all selected accounts on both Facebook and Instagram.
Access the account center from Facebook or Instagram.
- Access your profile with your credentials.
- Click “More options,” which is the menu with three horizontal lines.
- Select “Settings and Privacy” > “Settings” and you will see the Account Center.
Privacy management in the Account Center
When people looking for a way to stop Facebook and Instagram from spying on their online activity access the Account Center, they need to choose the settings they want to protect their privacy.
Now we have to follow the path. “Account Settings” > “Your information and consent”And on the next screen we will select “Your Activities Outside of Meta Technology”. When you click on this option Through this option, we will show you our latest activity. “Your activities”.
In this section we will look at which companies and organizations have access to our data. And we have three options:
- Disconnect specific activities Its function is to eliminate access to specific activities. For example, some applications cannot see our activities or data.
- Unlink previous activity What we do when we select this option is disconnect the activity history of our Facebook and Instagram accounts.
- Manage future activities We decided that in the future Companies and organizations Will they be able to access our information? Or will we block their access forever?
For a more in-depth look at monitored activity, click on “Recent activity”And we will list the activities that we have carried out in the past. This allows us to revoke companies and agencies’ access to each activity separately. In fact, We can sort data by activity level. By activity time and alphabetically for better control.
Once the settings that the user considers relevant are made Just click on “Disconnect” and your new privacy settings are ready. Of course, if you want to make changes in the future, you can do so without any problems.
For everyone who wants to know How to stop Facebook and Instagram from spying on your internet activityIt is extremely important to access the Account Center and try out the alternatives offered to protect your personal information. Because it is an accessible and simple tool that can improve our privacy a lot when we browse social networks.