I guess we all know by now that Facebook collects our data. But in a recent article, the Wall Street Journal focused on the data collected by just analyzing your photos. As it turns out, you’re giving away much more information that you provide yourself. As a matter of fact, Facebook can even determine exactly where you are at a given moment.
When you post a photo, it seems like you have all the control over the privacy. You choose the audience, whether or not you want to add a caption and tag people or location. But even if you only upload a photo with no additional information whatsoever, Facebook will still learn a lot about you.
According to the Journal, Facebook will scan the photo with their facial recognition tech. After all, you are probably aware of this, considering that Facebook suggests tags automatically. Still, if you take a photo in public, this means that the social network will recognize more faces than you do. If you choose not to tag the location –Facebook will still know where the photo was taken. Reportedly, you give away the information of your phone brand, your unique device ID, mobile provider, and even battery level. As the Journal writes, the app can even detect the nearby Wi-Fi beacons and cell towers, which it can use to determine your exact location even if you don’t geotag your image. Then, Facebook can cross-reference this data, so it can theoretically learn not just about your location, but also the location of everyone in the photo. So, although the app reportedly isn’t eavesdropping on your conversations, it knows a lot about you. And yet, they strip your photos’ EXIF data “for privacy’s sake.” Oh, the irony. [via Lifehacker]
