The "Free" Trap
Social media companies are data brokers. Their entire business model is predicting your behavior.
- Social Graphs: They map who you know, even people you haven't "friended."
- Shadow Profiles: Even if you don't have a Facebook account, they likely have a "shadow profile" of you based on your friends' contact lists and photos.
- In-App Browsers: When you click a link in TikTok or Instagram, it opens in their custom browser. This allows them to track every keystroke (including passwords) on external websites.
Strategies for Damage Control
1. The Nuclear Option (Delete)
The only way to win is not to play.
Before you delete: Request a download of your data. You might want to keep your photos.
2. The Lockdown (Mitigation)
If you must stay, lock the doors.
- Off-Facebook Activity: Go to Settings > Your Facebook Information > Off-Facebook Activity. Clear your history and disconnect future activity. This stops them from using data sent by other websites to target you.
- Permissions: Go to Settings > Apps and Websites. Remove every app you logged into with Facebook.
- Set to Private: Stop strangers (and scrapers) from seeing your life.
- Close Friends: Share personal stories only with a curated "Close Friends" list, not your entire follower count.
TikTok
Warning: TikTok is particularly aggressive. Security researchers have found it monitors your clipboard and keystrokes.
- Best Advice: Uninstall the app.
- Alternative: Use a web browser to view TikToks. It limits the data they can collect compared to having full access to your phone's sensors.
3. Compartmentalization
Never use the same browser for social media that you use for banking or health.
- Container Tabs: If you use Firefox, install the "Facebook Container" extension. It isolates Facebook in a digital jail so it can't track you across the web.
- Separate Browser: Use a completely different browser (e.g., Brave) only for social media, and Firefox for everything else.
