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90daylimitedwarranty t1_ixf0yfd wrote

What if you're not on facebook?

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phunky_1 OP t1_ixf2qq8 wrote

It doesn't matter if you are a Facebook user or not.

They are still giving them the information such as your spouses name, dependents names, how much income you made, etc.

They can then presumably turn around and sell that information to other entities that they have a business relationship with.

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90daylimitedwarranty t1_ixf4swh wrote

Luckily I didn't use any of those tax programs and I certainly never will now.

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Nausved t1_ixga1is wrote

Please make sure you also use really good adblockers and script blockers, and vet your phone apps carefully. Meta has its fingers everywhere.

Encourage family members to take the same precautions, because they can inadvertently share data about you.

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BaaBaaTurtle t1_ixgc9ch wrote

Geoffrey Fowler at WaPo had a whole series of articles about how even if you don't use social media or Amazon or any other big tech product, through your connections and whatever apps you do use, they can make a profile of you.

Basically the "I don't use it" is immaterial. No one in the US has data privacy

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90daylimitedwarranty t1_ixhnmw3 wrote

I don't use any apps either. I'm basically on reddit under a fake name. I have no real online presence of any kind.

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BaaBaaTurtle t1_ixhockt wrote

If you carry your phone in your pocket you have an online presence.

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90daylimitedwarranty t1_ixhok4u wrote

So somehow these tax software companies I don't use have wrecked my life because they sent my data to a social media presence I have nothing to do with because I have a phone in my pocket?

Um...okay.

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BaaBaaTurtle t1_ixi88aq wrote

I'm not saying the tax software is how your info is out there. I'm saying if you have a phone in your pocket, your info is out there. Geo fencing is a thing.

But it's even more basic than that. If you use a credit card, information is shared about your purchases with third party advertisers. The biggest compiler of your information, whether you're on the platform or not, is Meta. (https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2021/08/29/facebook-privacy-monopoly/)

If you use any of those membership cards at your grocery store, your purchases are shared with third party advertisers. If you browse on your phone, that's shared with third party advertisers.

Basically anytime you go somewhere or buy something or search something, that data is tracked.

And while your doctor can't share information about you, most software doctors offices use can share your data with third party advertisers (https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2022/06/13/health-privacy/).

This is why the attitude of "well I don't use it so I'm okay" is so misguided. It's an illusion of control that you don't have. Even if you take precautions (don't use the apps, don't go on social media, use DuckDuckGo, browse with Tor) you're not actually preventing third parties from knowing your data. We would need our laws to fundamentally change to protect any of our privacy.

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ExcellentPastries t1_ixhj58q wrote

Part of Facebook’s product is presumably to have a concept of identity that stretches beyond whether or not you’re a user of their site. People’s identity can essentially be hashed out of some combination of their name, birthdate, and probably one or two other combinations of distinct qualities, and then marketing data for that person is then stored according to that hash. This is how they preserve anonymity, in theory.

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