US company Facebook is utilising target commercials on users’ profile page based on their wall posts.
One example is if a user posts they are going for a run, that user could then see adverts for trainers displayed.
Answering questions from the Norwegian Data Inspectorate, Facebook explained that they do not sell the information to companies, but admitted a third party could access a user’s information through games and applications. This is something a user has to agree to.
The company also said that if a person visits a page with a “Like” button their IP address is kept for 90 days, whether they have “liked” the page or not.
Facebook has come under fire over the last few years due to their privacy settings. Many complain they are too complicated.
The privacy settings have recently changed again to make them “easier” for users. Each time a user posts on their wall they can choose who is able to see that post.
They can also opt in to have photos “tagged”, with new users being able to give permission for their name to appear on the photo.
Earlier this year, Facebook’s face recognition software came under fire too. Individual users had to opt out of this because it was automatically set up on their profiles, prompting complaints from many who believed this software should have been set up for users to opt in instead.