Where do Facebook and Instagram store your data and how do they monitor you? Find out from the experts

Over the years, Facebook and Instagram have received huge fines for violating user privacy around the world. Uutiset18 asked parent company Meta about data collection practices in India.

The Company is not bound by any Indian law to disclose what type of data these platforms collect from users, where they store this digital data, whether they store it in India or outside the country, and who has access to such data. However, the company’s reluctance to share such information definitely sets alarm bells ringing.

To dig deeper, Return Byte contacted those who have an understanding of how these companies operate. They not only revealed what type of data Facebook and Instagram collect, but also shared their views on data storage and tracking practices.

Monitoring of user behavior

Return Byte asked Meta whether Facebook and Instagram know how long a user has been watching a particular video or post and when they skipped it, as well as whether they are aware of such user behaviour.

While Meta did not respond to the survey, Major Vineet, founder and global director of the CyberPeace Foundation, said companies track users’ data consumption in the form of what videos we watch, share and like. He noted that this form of data tracking allows platforms to show users content that might be interesting in the guise of previously viewed content.

Vineet said, “It is also seen in some cases when one searches for a particular product on e-commerce sites and then sees advertisements for the same product on their social media platforms as well. This is all part of managing and processing big data by analyzing an individual’s data consumption, as software can predict a person’s behavior.”

ESDS Software Solutions Ltd CTO Rushikesh Jadhav emphasized that social media platforms can also have hidden agendas where they target specific users or individuals with certain impressions or ideas.

For example, if a social media company is incentivized to sell a particular smartphone to a user, it might promote relevant technology to that user and positive reviews of that product, thereby manipulating their opinion of the product.

“So these platforms not only track user behavior, but also manipulate it by promoting certain content or changing opinions about certain products,” he added.

Third Party Information Sharing

Neha Suyal, founder of Woovly, which advertises on these platforms, and Upendran Nandakumar, founder of Ayatiworks, a digital marketing company, strongly believe in the practices of these platforms to protect user data.

While Suyal said the current processes are comparatively strict than before, Nandakumar believes it is also important for users to be aware of such practices and opt out of sharing information with third parties if they choose.

However, Jadhav said that such platforms share various likely to third-party information such as “users’ age, gender, region and age” with third parties, and this information is used to target ads to specific individuals.

“Social media companies also share user data with third parties for background checks, platform security and other reasons. They profile users and categorize them as neutral, dangerous or positive influencers on their platform,” Jadhav added.

Data storage and access

Along with the above questions, Return Byte also tried to confirm from Metal where they keep the Indian data and whether foreign employees have access to it. However, the company denied the comment.

CPF’s Vineet said that in addition to data centers in the US and Ireland, Meta is setting up a data center in Mumbai, which will allow Indian users to take advantage of the complaint redressal mechanisms more easily.

But according to Jadhav, the terms of service of these social media platforms typically say that the company can use user data for analytical or performance optimization purposes. This strongly suggests that the company has access to user data both inside and outside the country.

Data type

According to analysis and experts familiar with business practices, Facebook and Instagram collect personal data (name, email address, phone number, date of birth and home address), location data and usage data, device data (such as the operating system). and device settings), IP address, browser type and other related information.

Facebook and Instagram also collect online activity data, which includes information about when and how often users log in, their preferred log-in time, and the order in which they use the platform’s features, such as checking notifications or browsing the news feed.

In addition, they track what types of content users engage with, such as what they like, dislike, comment on, or repost, and what types of content they watch repeatedly.

“Facebook and Instagram look at users’ contact information to see who is in their contact list, how often they communicate with those people, the nature of the calls and the duration of the call. Overall, these apps collect a vast amount of user data from users’ devices,” Jadhav said.

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