Following the implementation of the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), Facebook – like all companies – are required by law to provide easy access to all data that they’ve collected on their users, as wellas the option to opt in and out of (individual) data collections, as well as deleting all that they know about individual users. In addition, the Facebook ToS and policies were updated, because they were required to be clearer. You can read it here – it’s easily digestible, and strange to see a company being so honest about their business practices. But then again – they have to, in order to avoid administrative fines that can be as large as 4% of the company’s annual global turnover – for FB, that was 70.7 billion in 2019, so a fine of 2.828.000.000 USD.
So if you’re curious about what Facebook thinks about you and your interests, here’s how you find it:
- Click the dropdown-arrow at the top right of the search bar, next to the (?)-button.
- Select settings near the bottom.
- Select “Your Facebook Information”, second from the top in the menu on the left.
- Select “View” to the right of “Access Your Information”.
- The bottom section is the most interesting here. The different categories show different aspects of FB knows about you. For interests, select Ads Interests in the “Ads and Businesses” subcategory.
- ???
- Profit!
If you really want to, you can help Facebook by removing “interests” from the ad profile. That way, Facebook gets to know you better, can better profile you to advertisers, and make money off your data. You’re welcome!
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