Your Facebook Likes Can Reveal Too Much to Employers, Advertisers

Facebook Likes provide data harvested by companies and campaigns.

May 17, 2017 10:14 am

With Congress having just repealed laws preventing computer users’ browser history from being sold to advertisers without their consent, many will “dislike” what that means for Facebook members.

Prepare to have companies and political campaigns get even deeper insight into you through social media habits, MarketWatch reported.

Research from Cambridge University suggests a company studying just 10 of your Facebook “Likes” has as much insight into you as a work colleague. Their insights increase in accuracy with each additional like.

They can predict your political orientation with 85 percent accuracy and your sexual orientation at 88 percent, according to the study.

It may even be possible to gain deeper insights, as Facebook researched the psychological states of teens to determine “moments when young people need a confidence boost.” The result: advertisers may literally understand you better than the people actually sharing your life.

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