How Much Does Facebook Know About Me?

Data is the new oil.

In this post, I want to share about a machine learning algorithm which gives you an idea of Data Tracking and analysis done by Facebook.

Data Selfie is a browser extension for Chrome which gives you an approximate idea of the amount of data available to Facebook. Even though there is no exact way to know how Facebook process the tracked data, Data Selfie gives the best estimate. I have used it for 2 months to track the data collected through Facebook usage.

The extension tracks what am I looking at and the time spent on it. It also keeps track of the posts I like, the links clicked and what I type.

The following are the screenshots of my DataSelfie.

The last time I was online and the total time spent using Facebook.

The exact time of the day when I access Facebook

Pages I spend the most time in.

Using the concept of NLP(Natural language processing) Keywords are extracted. Text is a common form of communication on Facebook, Understanding the various ways text is used on Facebook can be used in improving the user experience.

Using the machine learning algorithm by IBM for Personality Insights, the personality of the user is predicted for the different personality traits.

Apply Magic Sauce by University of Cambridge is a machine learning algorithm used for predictive analysis of my Religious Orientation and Political Orientation.

Parting Thought:
"If You're Not Paying For It, You Become The Product"

You might have observed that a product you have searched in amazon would appear as an ad in Facebook or any some other site you visit later. This is because of the massive amount of data all the internet companies have access to. If my political orientation or my sentiment towards "Narendra Modi" can be predicted, It gives an insights about who I might vote for in future. It also helps in targeting ads based on my interests.