Here's why it would be foolish to expect privacy online

Illustration/Ravi Jadhav

So you think it won't happen to you, your life and pictures and other sensitive data won't be shredded and paraded for the world, because you've clicked all the privacy locks (settings)? You're living under a rock. Using the Cambridge Analytica (CA) saga - the data firm misused nearly 50 million Facebook users' personal information - as an example, cyber security experts have pooh-poohed the idea that even a semblance of privacy can be achieved while using social networking sites. The only way to ensure privacy is to limit one's use of that site or not have an account on it at all, they say. Facebook and other such sites are going to continue selling your data, at least to marketers (if not others). If that creeps you out, maybe it's time to #DeleteFacebook?

A mockery of privacy

>> Experts say it doesn't matter how many layers of privacy you put over your data, as the site itself can see everything, and hence, you have no control over how much of it decides to share with organisations willing to pay for it.

>> You might select "Friends only" while putting up that photo, but the more number of people you tag, the wider its reach.

>> And don't think you are safe from an app just because you haven't downloaded it. If any of your friends has that app, you can be sure that data of everyone on his/her friends' list, and not just that person's, will be on the snoop's radar.

>> It's not just advertisers that can use your personal information - courts can permit publication of relevant social media posts to serve as evidence, and law enforcement agencies frequently request data from Facebook. Then, there are insurance firms that use FB data to price premiums, while employers and colleges have already admitted to making decisions based on social media.

CA's subcontinent angle
As per new documents, Strategic Communications Limited (SCL), CA's parent firm, may have worked on political campaigns in India for years. Whistle-blower Christoper Wylie tweeted papers showing SCL conducted behavioural research and polling for at least six state elections between 2003 and 2012. Also, some records that have come to light show both the Congress and BJP may have been clients of the Indian affiliate of CA - Ovleno Business Intelligence.

Tweet talk

Jeffrey Wright @jfreewright: My son forgot his password. To reset it, Facebook asked so many questions about his friends you'd think Mark Zuckerberg was his grandmother or the Gestapo. I told him #DeleteFacebook.

The Hoarse Whisperer‏ @HoarseWisperer: I'm okay not knowing what people I barely knew in high school had for lunch today if it would prevent Russia from ever picking our president again. #DeleteFacebook

News Gusher‏ @NewsGusher: #DeleteFacebook may be the most ironic hashtag of all time. Using social media to boycott a social media site for doing the thing that keeps social media sites from going bankrupt... Did the Analytica story really reveal anything we didn't already know about the internet?

Alexander Hamilton @AHamiltonSpirit: Anyone else think Mark Zuckerberg's apology sounds just like that of a domestic abuser... "I'm so sorry, it will never happen again I swear" #DeleteFacebook #Facebook #CambridgeAnalytica

Wait 'n' watch

Abhinav Trivedi, entrepreneur
'The problem with FB is it wants to be at the centre of the universe and control everything but without accountability. I won't delete the app as of now, as it serves my purpose of connecting with communities, but I am definitely one step closer to deleting it'

Siddharth Sarthi, art director
'I've always been wary of giving random apps permissions. But it would be a tad too much to delete FB. Storage of data and cookies is also a boon, as it helps to shape a better user experience for us netizens'

800 mn
Monthly active users on Instagram, as of Sept 2017

50 mn
Approximate number of FB users whose data was misused

60k
Approximate number of times #Delete Facebook appeared on Twitter over two days last week

2.13 bn
Monthly active users on FB, as of Q4 of 2017

330 mn
Monthly active users on Twitter, as of Q4 of 2017

187 mn
Daily active users on Snapchat, as of Q4 of 2017

Inputs/Suraj Ojha

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