Facebook is scraping DCUM posts

[Anonymous]

I posted a bit of non-controversial information about a resort in the Shenandoah Valley, and ever since then my daily Facebook feed has been inundated with ads for places in the Valley to visit! I posted anonymously, but somehow Facebook knows who I am. Do you have a deal with Facebook? If they know who I am even though I posted anonymously, what else do they know about me?

[Anonymous]

META is tracking you you cannot be this dense

[Anonymous]

I wasn't asking you; I was asking Jeff.

[Anonymous]

Did you speak it out loud? I will say “hey I’d love to go to Vermon and snowshoe” and suddenly it’s all over my FB

[Anonymous]

Vermont

[jsteele]

There are a couple of possibilities:

1) Before posting on DCUM, you visited a website related to the Shenandoah Valley. Somehow, Facebook gave you a cookie. When you went to Facebook after that, the cookie told them you were interested in the Shenandoah Valley due to having visited that website.

2) This is less likely even though I realize you think it is more likely. When you posted about the Shenandoah Valley on DCUM, Facebook somehow gave you a cookie. Then, as above, when you visited Facebook they thought you were interested in the Shenandoah Valley because you posted about it.

How Facebook would give you a cookie is not entirely clear. We, and most other websites, run ads. The ads provide an opportunity for advertisers to distribute cookies. Facebook also buys ads. Meta may also own other ad networks. If you were provided either a Facebook ad or an ad from a network that Facebook controls, you could get a cookie from Facebook which Facebook could later read.

To be clear, I have no deal with Facebook. For the past couple of years, I have worked exclusively with one advertising network which works with a large number of other ad networks to provide ads for us. That company may work with Facebook or ad networks that Facebook or Meta controls. I simply don't know whether they do or not.

You should be aware that Facebook has a great deal of information about you. Have you paid attention to the "People you may know" suggestions? We had a plumber come to our house and suddenly I started getting "People you may know" suggestions that were his relatives (at least they had the same surname). I did not give him our wifi password so he did not connect to our network. But somehow Facebook connected him to me. Facebook not only has all the information that you provided them, but any other information that Facebook can gather online as well as data purchased from data brokers. It is not a stretch to say that Facebook may know more about you than anyone else.

[Anonymous]

jsteele wrote:There are a couple of possibilities:

1) Before posting on DCUM, you visited a website related to the Shenandoah Valley. Somehow, Facebook gave you a cookie. When you went to Facebook after that, the cookie told them you were interested in the Shenandoah Valley due to having visited that website.

2) This is less likely even though I realize you think it is more likely. When you posted about the Shenandoah Valley on DCUM, Facebook somehow gave you a cookie. Then, as above, when you visited Facebook they thought you were interested in the Shenandoah Valley because you posted about it.

How Facebook would give you a cookie is not entirely clear. We, and most other websites, run ads. The ads provide an opportunity for advertisers to distribute cookies. Facebook also buys ads. Meta may also own other ad networks. If you were provided either a Facebook ad or an ad from a network that Facebook controls, you could get a cookie from Facebook which Facebook could later read.

To be clear, I have no deal with Facebook. For the past couple of years, I have worked exclusively with one advertising network which works with a large number of other ad networks to provide ads for us. That company may work with Facebook or ad networks that Facebook or Meta controls. I simply don't know whether they do or not.

You should be aware that Facebook has a great deal of information about you. Have you paid attention to the "People you may know" suggestions? We had a plumber come to our house and suddenly I started getting "People you may know" suggestions that were his relatives (at least they had the same surname). I did not give him our wifi password so he did not connect to our network. But somehow Facebook connected him to me. Facebook not only has all the information that you provided them, but any other information that Facebook can gather online as well as data purchased from data brokers. It is not a stretch to say that Facebook may know more about you than anyone else.

I think this is due to physical location tracking.
Facebook app on the phone.
Plumber carries phone into someone's home.
That someone is also a Facebook user and in proximity of plumber's phone.

I swear I get suggestions to connect with people I pass by in the supermarket.

[Anonymous]

There was a story a while back about young ladies creating alt fb accounts to find sugar daddies, and then they would get them as “people you may know” on their mains. Super creepy.

[Anonymous]

Thanks, Jeff.

[Anonymous]

Best to stay off facebook.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Best to stay off facebook.

yeah, this x 100

[Anonymous]

Never use Facebook out of all stuff.