Consumer Reports: Facebook was careless with your data - Now what?

                                                   

If you are having trouble viewing images, click here. Recently, as many as 50 million Facebook users learned that their social media data was swept up in a massive data grab. Facebook users taking a psychology quiz may have unknowingly given away their own and their friends' private information. Then the creator of the quiz, a private app developer, sold that data treasure trove to a political targeting firm involved in the 2016 elections. If this situation has convinced you to rethink Facebook, here are your options: Don't want to give up Facebook? At least, eliminate 3rd party data collection on the platform Ramp up your privacy and eliminate 3rd party access and data collection. Manage your app settings and turn off Facebook Platform. This will deny access to apps, websites and plugins, but there are consequences you need to be aware of, like losing access to profiles or previous posts. Not ready to pull the plug but need a break? You can deactivate your Facebook account Consider putting your posts and photos on a brief hiatus and easily deactivate your account (you'll need to enter your password to confirm). When you're ready, you have the option to go back to sharing your updates on Facebook at any time. Ready to leave Facebook completely? Deleting your Facebook account may be the option, but do your research first This decision means that your photos, status updates, and messages will disappear, and your name will vanish from Facebook search. Before you say goodbye for good, know the steps you should take, like downloading your personal archive and checking which 3rd party accounts you access with your Facebook log in. We always want to keep our members informed on issues that impact their safety, well-being and privacy. Before you take any action, click here for more information on all three of these options and find out more on how to use Facebook privacy settings. © 2018 Consumer Reports, 101 Truman Avenue, Yonkers, NY 10703. All rights reserved.