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Facebook crisis - in 2018, Facebook's CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, was called for questioning in Congress in a session that lasted for over five hours. He was forced to explain, among other topics, how 87 million people's personal data had been leaked by Cambridge Analytica, according to the Telegraph.

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Alert - Zuckerberg admitted Facebook had made errors and that his team had a lot of work to do in order to rebuild the public's trust. The whole incident has shown the world that Facebook users' data isn't as safe as previously thought.

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Worrying - Facebook's Product Management Director, David Baser, revealed that the social network uses different marketing tools to collect people's personal data, even those who don't have a Facebook account, according to The Guardian.

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Common practice - Baser said: 'When you visit a site or app that uses our services, we receive information even if you’re logged out or don’t have a Facebook account.'

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Methods - The Product Management Director explained in a blog post that Facebook receives information on its users even when they are not logged into the social network, but when they 'like' or 'share' Facebook content, use their Facebook profile to register with another site or app, or access a service which is a Facebook advertising partner, among other methods.

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It's not just Facebook -

According to the blog, X (formerly Twitter), Pinterest, LinkedIn, and other platforms can also access users' data in the same way, through users liking and sharing of content.

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What data? - Facebook has access to all the details that its browser promotes on the site. When accessing a page that uses one of the social network's tools, the browser has access to its IP address, as well as the identity of the browser and operating system. The page can also collect cookies, which store the user's preferences.

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What can you do? - Now you've had a brief overview, and can understand the data protection issues facing users today.

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What can you do? - If you can't do without Facebook for work, or keeping in contact with friends, then check out these tips on parts of your profile that you can delete to protect your information.

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Tips - Indy100 has compiled a list of the things that every user should delete from their Facebook profile to protect their data.

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Birthday - Your date of birth might seem an innocent piece of information but it's not. In fact, it can lead to the leaking of other personal info, so it's best to delete it, even if it means you will miss out on those Facebook birthday posts...

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Birthday -

Your birthday, together with your name and address, could be the key for criminals to get their hands on your bank details and other personal data.

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Phone number - Sharing your phone number can cause problems, including possible unwanted calls and texts from admirers... it's much better not to make your number so readily available!

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Phone number - The likelihood of being contacted by a stalker or companies looking to sell you products is much higher than being contacted by a potential soulmate.

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Friends - Having lots of friends, especially those who you don't keep in contact with, can also be a problem.

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Friends - According to Robin Dunbar, a psychology professor from Oxford, humans are able to maintain roughly 150 stable friendships.

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Friends - After carrying out studies on the social network, the academic concluded that just a tiny percentage of a user's virtual friends were considered trustworthy and even fewer to be sympathetic or supportive in case of an 'emotional crisis.'

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Friends - It's recommended to delete the friends you are not close to, and just stay connected to those who you keep in regular touch with.

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Photos of friends and family -

While it's understandable that you'll want to share pictures of your family and friends who live far away, take care.

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Photos of friends and family - The acting director of the Oxford Internet Institute, Victoria Nash, asked a crucial question, according to The Guardian, linked to the issue of consent, especially when children are involved.

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Photos of friends and family - She questioned what sort of information your children would want to see published about themselves online in the future, as this could cause problems depending on the nature of the content you shared, aside from attracting the attention of unwanted stalkers.

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Don't post your location online -

Don't share the location of where you publish photos, videos and statuses. Be especially careful about keeping your home address secret. Facebook could use that information without you realizing, by getting it from old posts.

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Your kids' school - Don't share information about where your kids go to school or your family members study or work. This information could be easily exploited by those who seek to do them harm.

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Location services - Avoid using apps which allow you to check-in to places and don't use other services like these on your smartphone.

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Location services - Once again you must be aware of the potential danger of stalkers. In 2015, TechCrunch revealed that about 500 million users accessed Facebook exclusively from their cellphones.

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Location services - The information on the technology site stated that your online location can be transmitted to anyone, making you extremely vulnerable.

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Your boss -

This is a question of common sense. Facebook is a social network on which users can communicate freely and share photos, videos and any thoughts, rants or complaints. But make sure this doesn't backfire on you - if you want to express anger at something or someone, it's probably best not to spread it all over the internet.

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Your boss - Comments can be misinterpreted and lead to embarrassing situations, and even dismissals, if read by your employer. Either make sure your posts are not visible to them, or just stop posting your opinions online.

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Travel date and destination - According to the financial site This is Money, tourists who have things stolen on holiday can be denied their insurance payout if they shared details about their trip on social media.

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Boarding pass photos - It may be tempting to share the classic travel photo of yourself ready to go with your boarding pass in your hand, but think twice! Your boarding pass bar code is unique, and from that anyone could get access to exclusive info that you've shared with the airline company.

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Relationship status - Lots of people keep Facebook updated with their relationship status, whether in a relationship or single. However, it's better not to do this for risk of exposing yourself or someone else.

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Credit card details -

It might seem obvious but make sure you don't let your bank details fall into the wrong hands, and be extremely careful with how you share them online, even through private messages!

Sources: :(Telegraph, The Guardian, About.fb, Indy100, The Royal Society, TechCrunch, This is Money)  

See also: Smishing vs. phishing: why you need to know the difference

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