On Monday, Facebook will take the first steps to notify account users whether their data was shared with Cambridge Analytica. Facebook’s notification process will alert 87 million users, and if you would like to know how your Facebook account is affected by the Cambridge Analytica scandal, here’s what you should look out for in your account.
First, look for a link posted to the top of your news feed. This link will show you the apps connected to your account, as well as the information these apps have access to.
Once you see the apps connected to your account, you will also have the choice to delete these apps. Facebook provides a link to do so. This in turn, prevents these apps from collecting any further data from you.
It is a small step, but a first step, from Facebook to help protect its users and their sensitive data. However, considering the backlash Facebook has experienced following the Cambridge Analytica scandal, one could argue that it’s the least they can do for millions of users.
Cambridge Analytica, obtained private information from millions of account holders, thanks to an app designed by University of Cambridge professor, Aleksandr Kogan.
Kogan’s app, “thisisyourdigitiallife”, gathered up user data. But the problem occurred when they transferred this data without permission to Cambridge Analytica, a London-based company, which the Trump campaign hired for his 2016 election.
Kogan has since been banned from the social media platform, and on Tuesday, Facebook CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, will come before Congress to discuss the scandal.
