How does Facebook KNOW?

[Noonling]

Someone from my infant school popped up on my "people you may know".

We haven't spoken to each other for 20 years, before either of us had mobiles or the (proper) internet. I've never had her number or email address. We have no friends in common, nor have we ever had friends in common (I've never been in contact with anyone from infant school on the Internet). Our parents have never been in contact. We don't live in the same area, nor list our childhood area. Neither of us have the school listed on our profile.

The only thing I can think of is if she's searched for me on Facebook?

Spooky.

[ToneLa]

So is she fit now or what??

Facebook is fuckin creepy though. Assume it logs everything, the lot. Maybe she has been combing your profile.

Had some ex from when I was about 21 pop up. Which is odd, as it was pre Facebook and we shared zero friends and didn't even go to the same uni. Maybe they bought MySpace data!

[Bazooka]

So is she fit or what?

[Blumf]

FB knows what schools you went to, knows your age, can thus link you to fellow classmates.

Facebook can't, currently, know if she's fit. You'll have to provide us with that info.

[garnish]

FB knows what schools you went to, knows your age, can thus link you to fellow classmates.

Facebook can't, currently, know if she's fit. You'll have to provide us with that info.

But it doesn't know he went to this school.

My guess is friends of friends of friends, or the girl looking you up.

[Delete Delete Delete]

Kevin Bacons "people you may know" must be endless.

[touchingcloth]

It knows from the semen samples.

[hummingofevil]

Whilst we are at it how does your phone listen to your conversations? I'm getting targeted Twitter ads based on conversations I have even though I've got microphone permissions and personalised adds turned off on settings.

I noticed on my phone there are no settings for giving Google permissions so was wondering it's in that terms and conditions doc that you have to agree to to use Google that they can listen in to you and they then share this with Twitter.

Definitely not imagining it. Too specific. Recent one was about hearing aides which I've never looked at, discussed or searched on internet and got targeted ads minutes after girlfriend told me I "needed hearing aides" for not listening to her.

Don't believe it's synchronicity.

[Bazooka]

The algorithm will know if either of you have ever imputed your first school or whatever in the info section, even if you did that back in 2007 or whenever Facebook was making ground.

[kittens]

i can do you a deal on hearing aids if you're interested pm me

[Lisa Jesusandmarychain]

IS SHE FUCKING FIT ?

( Pixies consider, etc. )

[Claude the Racecar Driving Rockstar Super Sleuth]

Apparently it gathers data via any website that has one of those "Share to Facebook" buttons. I read somewhere that it even does this to people who aren't signed up to it.

[Crisps?]

The only thing I can think of is if she's searched for me on Facebook?

Could be the reason, but here are a few other possible ways (B is your old friend):

You are A's friend on FB; B is also A's friend, or has searched for B or maybe even just posted about them.
You're from town X; so is B.
You're in a photo uploaded by someone; B is also in a photo uploaded by the same person.
One of your WhatsApp/phone contacts is A; one of A's contacts is B.
And so on.

When they suggest friends, it's not to help you, but to help them pin you down as much as possible, to check if you're this person or that person. Not spooky, just sinister.

With Youtube I believe that (as well as simply promoting right-wing/Nazi stuff) Recommended For You stuff is based on what it suspects you may have looked at in the past, with different browsers and/or IP addresses, in order to connect those sessions and associate the IP addresses with you for tracking reasons.

I never log into Google/Youtube, always use incognito/private mode, and often use VPNs, and Youtube will still suggest things I've looked at in the past before in a different, uncookied private browser session, using a different IP address.

Clicking what it suggests would just be telling Google, yes that was me, so I never do it, but like Facebook I assume they know everything about everyone anyway.

Apparently it gathers data via any website that has one of those "Share to Facebook" buttons. I read somewhere that it even does this to people who aren't signed up to it.

Yes, Facebook knows so much about everybody that if you don't have an account at FB you have a "shadow profile", based on information FB has collected about you from people you know/contacts and/or tracking you through the millions of sites that contain FB code.

The closest thing to a solution is to stop using FB, and FB owned services/apps, and block every known FB connected domain.

[Ferris]

She searched for you. It gives you that "you may know" thing.

Happened to me for a client pitch in an old job. Someone from Michigan a few years older came up in my facebook thing. A week later, I met them in person in an office. Must have got my name from the pitch materials - turns out the other 2 people with me had the same notification.

Deleted the Demon facebook 2 years ago so maybe it's different now. Who knows.

[Crisps?]

Deleted the Demon facebook 2 years ago

Well you clicked a button on Facebook and haven't logged in for two years. It seriously blows my mind how otherwise sane people continuously upload so much personal info, including videos, photos and location information that will never, ever, ever be deleted, ever.

[Beagle 2]

I bought smoothies and miniature tonic waters from the store using Google pay on my phone a few weeks ago. Today I logged into my wife's online shopping account for the first time from my phone (using her password) to add a couple of things to the order. The next time she logged in it asked her if she wanted to add miniature tonic waters and smoothies to her order, exact same brands. Fucking hell!

[Ferris]

Well you clicked a button on Facebook and haven't logged in for two years. It seriously blows my mind how otherwise sane people continuously upload so much personal info, including videos, photos and location information that will never, ever, ever be deleted, ever.

Nah, went through the whole rigmarole of submitting a delete request. Probably hadn't used it for 2 or 3 years before that. I'm a recluse though so that helps.

[steveh]

I never log into Google/Youtube, always use incognito/private mode, and often use VPNs, and Youtube will still suggest things I've looked at in the past before in a different, uncookied private browser session, using a different IP address.

Pretty sure Google use browser fingerprinting across their main properties so new IP addresses and new sessions won't have much effect.

The EFF have a good checker for how easily you can be identified that way: https://panopticlick.eff.org/

[ToneLa]

Pretty sure Google use browser fingerprinting across their main properties so new IP addresses and new sessions won't have much effect.

The EFF have a good checker for how easily you can be identified that way: https://panopticlick.eff.org/

Yes! You have strong protection against Web tracking, though your software isn't checking for Do Not Track policies.

[Flouncer]

Nah, went through the whole rigmarole of submitting a delete request. Probably hadn't used it for 2 or 3 years before that. I'm a recluse though so that helps.

To be fair I don't think there's a reason to have any confidence that they actually delete any data when you go through the delete request procedure.

[Icehaven]

At work we've only recently discovered that the 3 desktop PCs myself and my two colleagues use share a Google search history. When we start typing something in and previous searches are suggested it bring up any that any of us have done on our PCs as well as our own, even though we all have separate logins and use separate PCs. It doesn't really matter from a privacy point of view as it's work and (afaik anyway...) no one's looking up anything they wouldn't want anyone else in the room to know about, and we (and anyone else in the office) can all see each other's screens anyway, it was just surprising to realise it was like that. It actually helps sometimes when we start looking something up for someone and it pops up as previously searched for so we know they've already asked for it. Still a bit disconcertingly 'connected' though.

[Ferris]

To be fair I don't think there's a reason to have any confidence that they actually delete any data when you go through the delete request procedure.

They say they do (and I'm an EU citizen so they're subject to GDPR). Who knows? They don't have any info on me more recent than 2011, and all they basically know (or knew?) is my university and that I like Tom Waits. I went to Sheffield and still like Tom Waits, so do with that what you will.

[hummingofevil]

Now I'm really freaked out. Was THINKING about how I incorporate AutoTrader reading into some one gammon type insult and it's just come up on Twitter. I have been tweeting about Nissan so it'll be that but felt like they reading my mind.

[Head Gardener]

[Crisps?]

Pretty sure Google use browser fingerprinting across their main properties so new IP addresses and new sessions won't have much effect.

The EFF have a good checker for how easily you can be identified that way: https://panopticlick.eff.org/

The fingerprint test doesn't load for me, for some reason.

[BlodwynPig]

I bought smoothies and miniature tonic waters from the store using Google pay on my phone a few weeks ago. Today I logged into my wife's online shopping account for the first time from my phone (using her password) to add a couple of things to the order. The next time she logged in it asked her if she wanted to add miniature tonic waters and smoothies to her order, exact same brands. Fucking hell!

THIS IS WHAT WE WANTED!!@!!$!!

[Cloud]

She's looked you up, probably bored and curious what's become of people she used to know in school. 

This is why you don't stalk people's Facebook profiles as it puts you on their "people you might know" list like a giant "hey this guy is creeping on you" message.  I saw that when I was messing about with a secondary profile one time