Many are surprised by the fact that a little more than 15 years ago, social networks did not paint in the panorama. Facebook and Instagram have managed to become popular by leaps and bounds in a very short time; the first exceeds 2,000 million active users, while the second adds around 700 million profiles.
Those of us who have a social network account know the advantages that these offer. It’s nice to be able to connect with old friends and people from a distance. Likewise, sharing tastes and interests can be stimulating. However, do we really know what the cost of opening a Facebook, TikTok or Instagram profile is?
In the first instance, I emphasize that my intention is not to disqualify social networks. I simply seek to draw attention to the violation of our privacy when using these applications. I believe that it is important to be aware of this reality in order to learn to take care of the data we share and protect our private information (as far as possible).
Well, the truth is that most people, when opening a Facebook or Instagram account, do not stop to carefully read the terms and conditions of the platform. This is serious, because they accept that the application has access to much of their private information, and even, without knowing it, we give it access to the image gallery and microphone of our cell phones.
In the Internet environment, it is said that when a service is free to the public, it means that the real product is the user himself. And it is that the good that these technology companies exploit as a business is the accumulation of data and information that they collect from the registered profiles.
What use are my data to these digital applications? To sell you advertising. Thanks to the private information that you share when you accept the terms and conditions, Facebook can know what you like, where you like to go, and what kind of people you prefer to interact with.
In this way, everything you share, what you see, and even what you search for, is saved by technology companies to later be used for the purpose of selling you something, inviting you to follow some public figure, or motivating you to visit a certain place. This artificial intelligence is known as an algorithm.
Have you ever searched the Internet for a word like “shoes” and later keep showing up ads for shoe stores? It’s the algorithm. Have you noticed that the posts of the same people are always displayed on the Facebook wall? It’s the algorithm. Instagram, TikTok and others seek to know everything about you, because that is the business of social networks. The more you interact, the more data they get.
It is certainly a highly controversial topic. The power that the owners of these digital platforms have is incredible. Furthermore, governments of different countries have already initiated serious debates on the scope of these technology companies and the need to regulate their activity. The objective, of course, is to ensure the right to privacy of users.