THIS is why I'm not on Facebook...

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I just messaged a friend of mine who wondered why I used a generic name on Facebook. Years ago, a friend saw that I was on Twitter, but not FB. Finding out that there was no trust from me for that platform, yet needing to stay in touch, I allowed him to create a quick "John Doe" account for me. I have never used my real name on Facebook. After all of the privacy violations involving "The Social Network" I remain astounded at the sheer number of people feeding the beast with all of their personal information.

Google: "Facebook apologizes" for a little taste...

"So sorry"

Photos, videos, relationship information, many seem heedless of the numerous times the company has had to apologize for repeated "mistakes" made with user data and privacy protections. This is one of the reasons they wanted people to post using their real names, as we-the-people, are the product that they sell to advertisers.

Yeah, I know, you have to use them because that's where all of your friends and family are. It makes one wonder though, what in the world did everyone do before they came around? Some used their proper names, however most people chose a catchy moniker with which to describe themselves. Women in particular, found a ready way to shelter themselves using an alias to stay one step ahead of potential abusers. Not anymore. Now the company acts as a data-hungry monster, set to devour the land to the last digital bit.

So to my good friends overseas, if you've ever wondered why I haven't served myself up as a burnt offering to the big blue deity, now you know. What are your thoughts about giving your most personal data to the world's biggest social network?

Thank You so Much!

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5 comments
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I completely agree.

I did sign up with my real name, not long after FB started, but I have staunchly refused to give them the vast majority of information they have asked for, and even demanded, on the basis that it is none of their freaking business.

So they have my name, and the high schools I attended, but they do NOT know my phone number, street address, or the city in which I live; nor do they know the nature of my business; or whom among my contacts are friends, relatives, business associates, or acquaintances.

And FB's algorithms aren't all they are cracked up to be: as just one example, I was urged to contact my sister over five years after her death. Talk about intrusive.

My husband refuses to be on FB at all, and if he wants to contact someone, he has me do it for him. He recently had me set up an account for him, at a friend's request, used it for less than a week, and asked me to delete it for him. Smart man.

I'm not worried about the little amount of data they do have on me, since a Google search comes up with far more, simply because I've been online since 1995.

I will say that I now use a paid VPN (which makes tracking my IP address useless), have StartPage set as my search engine, use encrypted email and messaging services, and generally only fill in personal data if it is anonymized.

The funny thing is that I also signed up for FB with a more generic name, but I can no longer recall what email address and/or password I used, so I'm locked out.

Funnier still, in the great FB purge, when they rooted out and eliminated accounts not using "real" names, that account has remained untouched, and still appears in my friends list. Great job, FB.

As I said, their algorithms aren't as good as their reputation might suggest. Happily for all of us.
;-)

Posted using Partiko Android

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(Edited)

Sorry to hear what happened with your late sister, it really shows a lack of polish on their part. My friend set mine up with completely fake information just so I could get messages from him since he wasn't on Twitter. Good old Startpage! love em! As for FB, in the beginning, no one had any reason not to trust them or any fear that they would become what they are today.

One thing that shocked me a few years ago, was seeing in real-time a notification that a friend was doing something on Facebook I know they would not have wanted their friends to know about. I also remember when Leo Laporte found out that anyone could add him to a group without his knowledge or permission (just think of how that could be abused).

I have not used a VPN yet, but I agree that is very smart on your part. I may decide to take the jump this year as well. It's funny, my overseas friends didn't know who this "John Doe type" character was who was making a friend request! :) Good on you for deciding to retain some of your digital privacy.

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I am not very active on FB
And I fought it for the longest time refusing to jump on board to "poke" people..
Like seriously?
Then I had some free time on my hands and was bored and created an account to see what the hype was all about.
I hardly posted anything being a very private person and used it mostly to keep up with friends
Then privacy went amok when Steem stepped into my life
I still have my FB account but hardly do anything with it....

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About the one thing I hear that's good are the results you can get from Facebook ads. Since everyone is on there, the reach is tremendous.

I remember when it was called "The Facebook" and only college students could join. Imagine that... :)

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