Facebook has been under fire for some time now. The social media platform was widely accused of not doing enough to prevent the spread of misinformation during the 2016 presidential election, and several high-profile backers have divested themselves of their investments.
And its critics will likely be shocked to learn how much data the platform keeps on its users. You can access the record Facebook has of you by following these steps:
- Go to Facebook and select Settings
- Click on “Download a copy of your Facebook data”
- Click “Download File” and wait for Facebook to email you a copy of your file.
Those who have downloaded their file confirm that it was a strange experience. The file contains information about when someone became a member of the platform, contains old photos and messages from old conversations.
Some of the other information the file reveals is as follows:
Chat – A history of the conversations you've had in chat (a full history is available directly from your inbox).
Check-ins – The places you have checked in to.
Credit Cards – If you make purchases on Facebook (e.g. in apps) and have provided your credit card number.
Facial recognition data – A unique number based on a comparison of photos you've been tagged in. It uses this data to help others tag you in their photos.
IP Addresses – A list of IP addresses that you have logged into your Facebook account from (will not include all IP addresses as they are deleted according to the retention schedule).
Phone numbers – Mobile numbers you have added to your account, including verified mobile numbers you have added for security purposes.
Political Views– Any information you added to Political Views in the Info section of the Timeline.
Searches – Searches you have performed.
