Electronic Frontier FoundationTo make yourself less valuable to Meta, Last Week Tonight with John Oliver recommends EFF's Privacy Badger extension and Surveillance Self-Defense guide to disable mobile ad tracking on your phone: https://www.johnoliverwantsyourraterotica.com
For more details on limiting Meta's ability to monetize your personal data, read EFF's guide: https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2025/01/mad-meta-dont-let-them-collect-and-monetize-your-personal-data
Mad at Meta? Don't Let Them Collect and Monetize Your Personal Data
If you’re fed up with Meta right now, you’re not alone. Meta tracks you across millions of websites and apps and its business model relies on your data. If you want to limit Meta’s ability to collect and profit from your personal data, here’s what you need to know.
You can support free public interest tech like Privacy Badger and more here: https://supporters.eff.org/donate/support-privacy-badger--lwt
Professor_StevensOr just delete your account. I did.
TariqYou don't need to have a meta account to be tracked by meta.
Yes, if you log in then they know who you are.
I don't have an account on Facebook Instagram whatsapp etc etc
I sadly do have one on Google and would love to get away.
Precisely. They know who you are, what you did, where you were, when you were there, what OS you run, what kind of computer you're on, what browser you're using, and maybe even your typing speed, just from logging in.
But worse, they have a record that you used their system. You become an asset Zuck uses to sell services. Without an account, they have none of that, and he loses his most precious inventory item: one of us.
BBonkers@rzeta0 @Professor_Stevens @eff
Came here to say this. My guess is that they can maintain a digital biology for everyone who’s ever used their service without retaining any actual submitted data. And they can use that user makeup to track people across the internet long after someone has “deleted” their account.
Maria Langer | 📝 🎬 ⚒️🛥️
John Carlos BaezNumber one trick: stay off Meta sites.
Number two trick: they will track you even from sites that are not their own, so install software / adjust settings to block them from doing that.
@johncarlosbaez @eff @jdarnold Fine. But if you don't have a Facebook or Instagram or any Meta product account AND you reject cookies on websites and automatically delete cookies when you leave a site AND you're not dumb enough to click a Facebook like button or go to Facebook/Insta for anything, HOW CAN META TRACK YOU?
Facebook isn't free. The users are the product. If you want to use Facebook, YOU will pay for it.
Don't use Facebook. Period.
archcorenth@eff I did it. it was weird logging into facebook after so many years. Apparently Dean Cain had like a post by me from 9 years ago.
pangaearocks@eff Many of these steps don't matter, because it's just a user facing thing. You can toggle off this or that, but it's not actually off behind the scenes. Max tracking and surveillance always. Some extentions help I think, so that is what I have done, despite not having a fascistbook account.
FallsMom 🌻Just read about this from John Oliver, done!
DoNotPunchDownThank you!
I also found "encryption and credentials" under "security" on my Android. Unbelievable how many corp crap is there. Is it safe to turn all that off?
Ek Ong Kaar K Michaud@eff Saving this article. Appreciate the help!
Gary Dale
Laukidh
@eff Looks like I did even better with this little "trick" of holding their apps icons until they started shaking and that little menu popped out - then clicking "delete this app" 😏
wanderingmagus@wanderingmagus Of course not. But I did it also myself. Apart from Facebook account cos I want to keep Messanger at least for now and for not so important communication. I hope they don't get too much data from my account I do not log into at all (apart of Messanger with no location data, no mic, no camera, no photos). Guess it works because now if I really need to buy sth i have to switch back to google for a moment to even get any good offers based on my search querry 😆
@ati1 You could consider Signal as an alternative to Messenger. It's actually private and used by journalists and activists all over the world!
@wanderingmagus Thanks. 👍
caneToad
batvin123
Darwin Woodka@eff I don't allow Meta on my phone at all
Joan Albright@eff Don't forget Facebook Container
Vervain 🏳️🌈