Facebook Container Extension

[StuartR]

This Firefox extension might help to reduce the amount of information that Facebook collects...

https://blog.mozilla.org/firefox/facebo ... extension/

[HansV]

Haven't you quit Facebook yet?

[StuartR]

I use Facebook quite heavily Hans. I have a wide international group of friends and Facebook provides the easiest way to keep in touch with each other.

[HansV]

I thought recent revelations would be enough reason to avoid using Facebook...

[StuartR]

We all have to balance our privacy against convenience. I had already opted out of customized ads, and set the option to prevent apps from accessing any data, so I probably wasn't too impacted by the recent events.

[viking33]

I thought the Facebook container was the round circular file near the kneewell of your desk?
Oh well, to each his own.

[BobH]

I never joined facebook or twitter and I only use google as a last resort when ixquick or duckduckgo doesn't render a sought out answer.

[viking33]

I never joined facebook or twitter and I only use google as a last resort when ixquick or duckduckgo doesn't render a sought out answer.

Glad to hear that I'm not the only one!

[StuartR]

I am active on both Facebook and Twitter, I find them both very useful.

[stuck]

Meanwhile, I created a Facebook account years ago but it never gets used. I set up the account in the vain hope it would allow me to follow the adventures of my sons as they went off to university. Except stuckling2 refused point blank to accept my 'friend request' and although stuckling1 and I are 'friends', he'd already got past the novelty of posting on FB so there was / never is anything to see from him

I've never bothered with Twitter but I do have a FF bookmark to stuckling2's Twitter feed as he does post snippets about his adventures in Organist Land.

Ken

[BobH]

I've never trusted google, fb, twitter and their ilk because they garner information about my 'Net habits without my knowing exactly what they amass not what they use it - or allow it to be used - for.

I am intrinsically a private person who does not like others to know his business, not because I'm dishonest or nefarious but because I don't want to be bothered by advertised products nor do I want to be the subject of idle gossip and speculation by family, friends, acquaintances and strangers. To me, that is like standing to close to me or keeping your face in too close proximity to mine.

I wish there were a constitutional (US) recognition of an individual's right to privacy of person and activities so long as those are not illegal.

[Argus]

Sorry to "pile on", Stuart, going OT; good of you to mention the extension.

Even without a Facebook account they collect some information (no surprise there); I've got invitations, as I guess most people with email have, there goes the email addresses. And, apparently Facebook apps collect metadata for phone calls and text messages. So, even if you don't have an account, and even if people you know who have accounts doesn't "tag" you in pictures etc. the apps can collect metadata about phone calls and text messages sent via standard Android (non-Facebook) apps. Sigh.

Fleeing Facebook app users realise what they agreed to in apps years ago – total slurpage (The Register)

That said, I guess there can be quite many apps for, for example, Android that have "include all-permissions".

So, even if I dig out my old Nokia Facebook can still collect metadata about my calls and messages from other people. (I can at least trust it to not upload a backup of just about everything.)

(Here, some have said that they see no alternative but to use Facebook (and that they know about Facebook collecting info, but would rather not know what, since, well, there's no alternative). Let's say there is a choir or an orchestra, and that they arrange all their activities, concerts etc. via Facebook then they have to remember the few who doesn't have an account and remind them. But what did they do before Facebook? Convenient, yes, but they have started using Facebook in favour of something else.)

All that said, I agree with Stuart that we all have to balance our privacy against convenience, when using the Internet.
(Still, apps such as Truecaller seems to be popular; but why would I use a third party app to tell me who's calling, and at the same time give said third party info about who's calling me.)