Sometimes ignorance is bliss

Maybe you heard about the Facebook data story? No? Cambridge Analytica doesn’t ring a bell?

OK, I understand. You’re busy, and the story just seemed too … distant / remote / out there.

Me too.

…and sometimes ignorance is ignorance

Then I ran across an article from Entrepreneur.com which explained, point by point, how to check your Facebook Activity Log, and then, if you were motivated, how to delete it. So, with a little fear about knowing just how much information I was sharing with Facebook (and the world), I did it.

Oh. My. God.

My Facebook account has been running for just about 11 years. Yeah, I was late getting onto Facebook (Just like everything else. If you’re a marketing major, I’m a total suspicious Late Adopter). Here’s what my download looked like. Not too scary, right?

Then I clicked on the little file “index.com”. In it, I found my name, birthdate, 3 email addresses, lists of my family members, and …pretty much every interest or group I’ve ever liked. For example, here’s a nice list of all the sites I’ve ever liked:

I don’t need software to read through this list and see what kind of a person I am, the businesses I support, and my political affiliations.

Remember Pokes? I don’t know how many people use this function. I’m apparently not a fan – but the thing is, Facebook thought this important information to capture:

How does it feel to know all of this?

Like this:

(Almost too late but) It’s time to take action

So, after this revelation, I moved straight into HOW DO I GET RID OF THIS?

It’s very easy. Here’s a nice Youtube video (which had just over 240K hits when I saw it, and will likely have 500K soon!).

You’re welcome.