I think it’s safe to say that we’re all guilty of not reading through all the terms in the user agreements, privacy, and data policies of a few—perhaps all—websites, mobile applications, or platforms that we sign-up to.
Let’s be honest...they are quite a long read, and anybody who’s signing up really wants to get started with the platform, disregarding everything else.
Sometimes, these agreements and policies also get updated, but only a handful of people are diligent in seeing what has been changed to track them.
One famous platform that everybody probably has an account with is Facebook, and they’ve updated their Data Policy to make it clearer for its users.
Those of you who don’t like long reads but still want to see what’s on Facebook’s terms, both the old and updated terms, better read on.
Financial Transactions Made on Facebook Products
This isn’t a recent update, but it’s a significant one since we might make purchases on the platform at any time.
Facebook has since evolved from just a platform you socialize on to a platform that you can also buy and sell things on. The platform also has features that allow it to send and receive money and make donations.
Purchasing games, sending money to friends, making donations, and buying and selling items on Marketplace and Facebook groups are just some of the things that can be done.
On Facebook’s Data Policy, it’s explicitly stated that when you use Facebook’s products for financial transactions, they will collect payment information about the purchase. This includes debit and credit numbers, authentication information, billing information, shipping details, and contact details.
All Networks and Connections Interacted With and Synced to Facebook Products
As a platform most of us use to socialize, we probably have friends, pages, groups, and even hashtags we interact with. All this information is collected, and how we interact with them is analyzed so that our user experience can be improved.
On some occasions, you might have been asked to type in your mobile number or sync your mobile contacts, especially through Messenger.
If you gave your mobile number or synced your contacts, Facebook collects information such as call logs, address books, or SMS log history so that you can find people you know. Facebook also uses these pieces of information to personalize and improve its products.
Likewise, people can also find you if they have your contact information and they’ve synced their contact on the products.
Those you interact with on Facebook and Messenger might also pop up on your Instagram suggestions now and then, and vice-versa. You might notice people, pages, groups, or events on your feed that you’re familiar with. That’s because all the information you provided is used to curate these suggestions for you to see.
Third-Parties and Information They Use
While Facebook does work with third-party partners to improve their services, they have explicitly stated that they will never sell anyone’s information to their partners. Strict restrictions are also set in place for how these partners can use and disclose the data they have provided.
Facebook partners include those who use Facebook’s analytics services to gain aggregated statistics and insights to understand how users engage with posts, pages, videos, and other forms of content on the products.
This information can include the number of people who viewed and interacted with the account and aggregated demographics.
On the other hand, advertisers only receive information about how their ads are performing and who sees the ads. But all the information about the viewers is general and doesn’t personally identify each person unless, of course, you grant Facebook that permission.
Legal Requests or Law Enforcement
In matters where law enforcement is concerned, Facebook complies only if they believe in good faith that the law requires them to do so.
They access, share, and preserve your information with law enforcement and regulators in response to legal requests. Legal requests such as those outside the United States are responded to if Facebook believes that the law requires them in that jurisdiction and if it’s consistent with internationally recognized standards.
They also share information if it is a means to detect, prevent, and address fraud, violations of terms and policies, harmful or illegal activity, or unauthorized use of their products, protect themselves, or prevent death and imminent bodily harm.
Legal requests or obligations, governmental investigations, and violations investigations that require information, such as those from financial transactions, can access this information and preserve them for an extended period of time.
