Study Asks Facebook Users How Much They Think Their Data Is Worth

Facebook makes billions of dollars off collecting your personal information and using it to target advertising. However, the users who provide that data don’t see a cent of revenue. That’s what led a team of researchers to ask a simple question of 5,000 Facebook users: what would they hypothetically want to be paid for their data?

“Websites use a combination of tactics, including different defaults, ‘nudging,’ and even obfuscation to get users to give up their data,” researcher Avner Strulov-Shlain said. “We wanted to see how users innately value their data, how the architecture of the choice presentation may affect users’ decisions, and whether some people are more susceptible to these differences than others.”

The team of researchers discovered that when given a choice, users placed hugely different values on their personal data, but they generally value the same categories of data the most. For example, data about friends and followers was worth the most, but data from posts and the “about me” section was worth the least. Researchers also discovered that younger or less educated users are more susceptible to how Facebook frames requests for data.

Of course, the social media giant isn’t about to let users cut in on its profits, but it’s still encouraging that people value the info of their friends so strongly.




Recommended Resources

bitdefender Choose what the experts use: award-winning cybersecurity you can trust and rely on.

PIA Surf the web truly incognito. Try Bitdefender Premium VPN, the ultra-fast VPN that keeps your online identity and activities safe from hackers, ISPs and snoops.

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

 

41 States Sue Facebook For Allegedly Being Harmful And Addictive For Kids Previous post 41 States Sue Facebook For Allegedly Being Harmful And Addictive For Kids Facebook Unveils Paid Subscription Model To Comply With Privacy Regulations Next post Facebook Unveils Paid Subscription Model To Comply With Privacy Regulations