Facebook can track what you do online, even when you're logged out. What is your reaction to this?

As has been noted by others, Facebook is a free service. So are most of Google's products, Twitter, Wikipedia, LinkedIn, and other social media and crowd-sourced data. The add-on apps and portals on mobile devices, all of which collect more data, are another dimension. Of course of credit-card usage adds to the data heap. We give-up privacy for convenience. Whether or not that is a an informed voluntary act is open to debate. What has changed is that our illusion of privacy has lately become more realistic, and we're uncomfortable about that change.

I do not worry about this. Marketing data-collection has been going on since I was born and before. If has grown more sophisticated, but has an unchanging core principal that targeted marketing is lucrative and the data for it is valuable in the aggregate and not fungible at the atomic level. You need to collect transaction-identifiable data, and do it massively. Personally-identifiable transaction data is even more valuable. We can expect better market economics and ROI, along with reduced cost. Few people understand that connection.

Those who are worried about privacy can opt-out. That means giving-up the high connectivity from the web and mobile apps, using cash only, not having a bank account, and varying one's daily routine randomly. Most people would find that burdensome.

I don't know the how and where of Facebook's capabilities. Before I jump to conclusions, I'd like to know first which specific things that I'd do on Facebook would allow them to track me off of it.
Then again, I don't publish every triviality of my life in any social media. I don't play Facebook games. I don't publish inappropriate photos. Facebook, as an example, I have set to private and I find no use in accruing 'friends'. The people on my Facebook page are my actual friends and even considering that, I put nothing up on my Facebook page that I could not hold over my head walking through a public shopping mall.

What I find most interesting is that so many people are able to broadcast indiscriminately, often highly intimate personal facts or inflammatory opinions which would be inappropriate at a closed party of involved friends much less the general public.

Internet behavior has created this idea that is oddly one-sided. Individuals often broadcast or public vent their angers and frustrations and yet they are still surprised when it is reflected back at them. I'm not talking about cyberbullying (an entire subject itself with similar roots), just the incongruity of not expecting a reaction to a reactive statement.

Even though for me, I keep friends on Facebook, and business connection on LinkedIn, there's surprisingly little overlap. That is entirely by intent.

You make some excellent points, Robert.

It looks like Facebook is now saying that they collect this data to prevent spam and phishing attacks. They also claim to delete the data right away. http://blogs.wsj.com/digits/2011/09/26/facebook-defends-getting-data-from-log...

Robert,

You make some good points about consumer behavior. Basically, we willingly and regularly surrender all sorts of privacy rights in the name of convenience. Then, we become (or act) outraged when something like this is published.

A free service needs to pay for itself somehow, so we shouldn't be shocked that companies like Facebook will seek to monetize their service in one or more ways.

-ASB: http://XeeMe.com/AndrewBaker

Glenn makes some excellent points.
Caveat emptor. Cancel the service if you disagree with their terms of service.

This is no surprise, as many have already stated. And if you have a website for your business, you should be using Google Analytics or one of the paid web analytics systems and realize that pretty much everything you do online is being tracked by somebody. Google, Yahoo, Alexa...the list goes on and on. It's important information for website owners who know how to interpret it, and is used to make those websites better selling tools. If you don't like it, don't go online. There are several Facebook apps I've opted out of because they state up front that they'll be able to alter things in my own profile. The Internet is a valuable tool, but you have to use it and all its components with caution and awareness.

It should come as no surprise that FB and other sites use the techniques discussed above. The user community has options to combat invasions of privacy, although they are currently limited to the more sophisticated and savvy users such as members of Focus. There was a thread some time back with recommendations for maintaining a degree of anonymity, one of which is to join the Tor network. The linked article has a download link and good discussion of privacy issues that is worth the time of anyone with such concerns.

https://www.torproject.org/about/overview.html.en

I did not read the privacy policy when I signed up for FB and I should have. Since I use FB infrequently, I will opt out of FB and other a whole lot of other unnecessary sites. FB as a social or communication vehicle is not important to me.

My reaction is one of acceptance. The moment I decided to use Facebook as a communications tool I also accepted its terms of use. Facebook keeps a record of what I do online or offline (share comments, photos, videos, interests, some personal information, etc) and I decided I would take advantage of this functionality. Likewise, I am aware of potential risks of sharing certain information. For this, I made some adjustments to the configuration and settings of my profile. Also, I defined what information I would share with others, and what I prefer to keep confidential.

The moment we all decided to use an instrument, service, machine, vehicle, etc., we assume responsibility for our actions (and we even buy insurance to help us manage the risks). Consequently, it is our responsibility to use this tool responsibly, safely, and take advantage of all its benefits.

In talking about this topic with social media gurus, Facebook is only one of many who track your online activity.

Many companies are now getting on board so they basically follow you around the Internet. It sounds shady, but like Darrell said, it is not illegal - yet. Think about it... have you visited one site, then gone to another site that has nothing to do with the previous site, but all of a sudden, you notice an ad for the site you just left on the new search page? It's because the business for that site you just left is tracking you around the Internet so they can continue to market to you sending 'not so subliminal messages' to get you to buy.

Makes me want to turn off my cell phone GPS Locator!!!

Who cares? This website "Focus" is a typical example of the number of people who are losing sleep over Facebook and what they think or what they do. How may people are registered users of "Focus?" Do they look as though they are afraid to say what they want to say or do what they want to do, or go where they want to go because Facebook is watching? Don't seem that way to me! Almost everyone on "Focus" website has a photo besides their name and a link to their website. Exchange of communication is ongoing at "Focus" - don't sound like a scary crew to me! So let "Facebook" do what they want to do. It shows clearly that the crew at Facebook don't have very much to do because the users are not checking they are doing their own thing :-)

If Facebook can track my on-line activity, I would want to sue Facebook or get a restraining order against Facebook. Only decorum prvents me from stating a more radical response to this illegally intrusive practice.