Signal reveals Facebook’s creepy data collection

Facebook and Signal have been “friction” each other since Facebook decided to change WhatsApp’s privacy policy to collect and share data with the platform. This move turned many people away from WhatsApp and turned to support apps like Telegram and Signal, forcing Facebook to delay the implementation of its new privacy terms.

Shortly thereafter, Signal decided to unravel the system of advertising activities from Facebook’s user data.

“We’ve created a highly targeted ad to show you the personal data that Facebook collects and sells access to. The ad will only show some of the collected information about the viewers it displays ”- Signal said.

Immediately, Facebook disabled Signal’s advertising accounts. Facebook denied that the account was closed and removed ads. However, Signal kept its statement.

In case you don’t know, Facebook and Instagram share the same advertising platform so companies can access a variety of data collected from both platforms.

This campaign by Signal aims to reveal how Facebook collects user information to personalize ads. Advertisers can use a lot of information based on a user’s location, age, demographics, interests, and behavior to target.

Ads can be positive or harmful. Just last week, researchers found that Facebook allowed advertisers to target teenagers who liked to smoke, gamble and lose weight.

Signal isn’t the only company trying to expose Facebook’s activities. Recently, Facebook and Apple had a very public confrontation after Apple decided to let users decide if they wanted to be tracked online. Although the problem affects all companies, Facebook has been very vocal about the matter and even threatened to charge users if they did not choose to allow it.