Many social media users don't know that their favorite sites are monitoring them. From the posts they like and comment on, the ones they post and delete, and their location, these platforms collect a lot of data. This data can impact social media users' privacy and put them at risk of hackers if it falls into the wrong hands. This article will examine how social media sites monitor user activities and provide actionable steps to help you protect your data.

What Data Do Social Media Platforms Track?

It's important to understand how social media tracks users and the common data type they collect. These include:

Post Likes, Comments, and Shares

The ever-changing social media algorithms usually try to build a profile of your interests and actions on platforms. That means they store every post, like, comment, and share. Every time you post or even scroll through your social media feed, these platforms monitor your activity and build a profile of your interests, habits, and your location. 

Even when you delete a post, they still keep the data for an indefinite period. What is even worse is that these platforms usually share this data with advertisers and data brokers. On the other hand, cybercriminals use hidden software to access this data.

Location

Whether you have disabled your GPS or not, many social media platforms will still track your location. For instance, Instagram, WhatsApp, and Facebook rely on a device's IP address and sensors to understand your location.

Shadow Profiles

Another assumption social media users have is that they can only be tracked when logged into their accounts. This is not the case, as these platforms also track users who haven't logged into their accounts. They do that using data obtained from third-party sources. For instance, when one of your friends tags you in their photos, these platforms will create a hidden profile. They also use third-party tracking scripts to monitor users' online activity outside their platforms.

How Social Media Platforms Use Your Data?

Once you realize your social media data is being tracked, the next question you may have is who needs this data and for what reasons. First, it's important to note that once your data is collected, it doesn't just sit but is first analyzed and shared or even sold to third parties such as:

Data Brokers and Advertisers

One thing that brands have realized is that highly personalized ads have the highest returns on ad spend. Ad targeting refers to the practice of showing ads to people who may be interested in your products or services. By collecting your data, social media platforms are trying to determine the products you may be interested in.

Therefore, the social media platform shares this data with advertisers. For instance, the Facebook ad library enables advertisers to track the content users may be interested in, shaping the ads they see.

Political and Psychological Profiling

Nowadays, social media platforms play a key role in influencing public opinion, elections, and even mental health. These platforms must collect social media users' data for the best targeting. For instance, the Cambridge Analytica scandal showed that social media data was used to influence voting patterns.

Scammers and Hackers 

Social media platforms will not knowingly share this data with these groups, as this would be bad for their business. However, cybercriminals still find a way to access the data before using it for cyber crimes such as impersonations, phishing attacks, or identity theft. For instance, when you add data such as name, birthday, and hometown, hackers can use this information to guess your password.

How to Protect Yourself From Social Media Spying

To protect themselves from social media spying, some social media users have gone to the extent of closing their social media accounts. However, you don't have to do that, as there are ways you can protect yourself online. We have covered these tips in our detailed article on the rising concern over data privacy and surveillance. In summary, some of the  key measures you can take to protect yourself include:

Locking Your Privacy Details

Ensure that your privacy settings are locked down. You can do that by:

• Setting the location tracking on your app setting to off.
• Disabling ad personalization on Google, Facebook, and Instagram settings.
• Keeping your social media account private or limiting the number of people who can see your posts.

Limit Third-Party Access

At times, users unknowingly permit apps to collect their data on social media. Therefore, review the apps you have allowed to collect your social media account and deny permission to the unnecessary ones. Avoid signing to sites using Facebook or Google, as the data of the sites you visit will be tracked. You can also request the sites that scrape your data from social media to remove it.

Hide Your Digital Footprint

There are some browser extensions you can use to block trackers. You can also use a VPN to hide your location from social media platforms.

Final Thoughts

Remember that it will be hard to recover your data once it is collected and shared. That's why you need to understand how social media sites collect your data and the steps you should take to protect yourself. From adjusting your privacy settings to denying apps access to your social media accounts, there are steps you can take to protect yourself. By reading our guide and following the steps above, you should be able to keep your data safe.