All the Data Facebook Collects on Consumers

Laurence Williams  |  May 14, 2021

ANALYTICS

We spend a lot of time on Facebook and on Facebook products, and the company is able to glean a lot of information from that. Facebook ‘likes’ can even predict your race, religion and sexual orientation.

But there are other ways that Facebook collects information on us, and whether you’re a business owner or consumer, you should know how and why Facebook collects your data.

How Facebook Collects Data

- Engagement - Biometrics - Facebook Pixel - Other Properties

Engagement

A lot of the data Facebook collects we give them by including it on our page, but they also use engagement, including likes of other pages or posts, comments, messages and even dwell time.

Engagement 

Engagement metrics are used to measure user behavior and predict patterns and interests to build profiles that benefit advertisers and target audiences with tailored content.

Biometrics

Facebook collects biometric data from photos and is training its facial recognition AI system to recognize individuals and let users know when a photo of them has surfaced online.

Facebook Pixel 

Facebook also collects information from websites that have installed the Facebook Pixel, which benefits website owners, marketing teams, advertisers and, of course, Facebook.

Facebook Pixel 

Knowing how users act on other websites tells Facebook which users are frequent online purchasers, high spenders, what kind of products they’re interested in and more.

Other  FB-Owned Properties

Facebook also owns Instagram, Messenger, WhatsApp, Portal, Oculus, Facebook Shops and Spark AR. There are a lot of places for Facebook to collect and monetize your data.

So what kind of data can a website owner access, what can consumers control, and how can everyone benefit?