Facebook was rocked by major privacy and data scandals last year, causing many users to to discover for the first time how the company collects and uses our info. However, as a recent Pew survey discovered, that still does not mean many people fully understand what’s going on with the social media giant’s data practices.

According to the survey’s results, 74 percent of users don’t even know that Facebook collects a list of their interests for the purposes of targeting ads. However, when these users were shown their own lists, about 60 percent said the information was accurate. Most tellingly, 51 percent were uncomfortable with Facebook collecting the information at all. This clearly indicates the problem Facebook has on its hands when it comes to educating users — and the company knows it.

“Pew’s findings underscore the importance of transparency and control across the entire ad industry, and the need for more consumer education around the controls we place at people’s fingertips,” a Facebook spokesperson told The Independent. “This year we’re doing more to make our settings easier to use and hosting more in-person events on ads and privacy.”

Beyond just educating users about their privacy controls, however, Facebook faces an even bigger threat to its business: a lack of trust. After all, just because people find out what Facebook is doing with their data doesn’t mean they’re going to be okay with it.

Click here to be taken to Facebook’s Data Policy Page.

Recommended Resources

Bitdefender 2019 solutions stop attacks before they even begin. Try 90 days free of Bitdefender Total Security 2019

Private Internet Access is an award-winning, cost-effective VPN solution. The use of an anonymous and trusted VPN is essential to your online privacy, security and identity protection.

System Mechanic 14 – Make your computer run like new. Winner of 200+ Editor’s Choice awards!