{"id":130711,"date":"2021-10-29T14:53:11","date_gmt":"2021-10-29T21:53:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.mcafee.com\/blogs\/?p=130711"},"modified":"2025-06-10T06:46:56","modified_gmt":"2025-06-10T13:46:56","slug":"what-do-social-media-companies-know-about-you","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.mcafee.com\/blogs\/privacy-identity-protection\/what-do-social-media-companies-know-about-you\/","title":{"rendered":"What Do Social Media Companies Know About You?"},"content":{"rendered":"

What do social media companies really know about you? It\u2019s a fair question. And the\u00a0quick\u00a0answer is this: the more you use social media, the more those companies likely know.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The moment you examine the question more closely, the answer takes on\u00a0greater\u00a0depth. Consider how much we use social media for things other than connecting with friends. While that was\u00a0the original intent behind social networks, the role of social media has since evolved into something far more expansive. We use it to get our news, stay up to date on when artists will drop a new release, and\u00a0sometimes\u00a0reach out for customer service on a company\u2019s social media page.\u00a0In some cases,\u00a0<\/span>we use our social media accounts to log into other sites and apps<\/span><\/a>\u00a0or\u00a0<\/span>we even make payments through social media<\/span><\/a>.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Taken together, all of those likes, taps, clicks, links, and time spent reading or watching videos\u00a0can\u00a0add up\u00a0and paint a\u00a0detailed\u00a0picture of who you are.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Why are they collecting all this information?\u00a0Largely, it\u2019s for two reasons:<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

1. To make improvements to their platform, by better understanding your behavior and ways you like to use their service.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

2. To create an exacting user profile that advertisers can use for targeting ads that they think will interest you.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

That\u2019s the exchange in play here. You use the company\u2019s social media service for free, and in return, they gain rights to gather specific information about you, which you consent to by agreeing to their terms of service.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Let\u2019s\u00a0get into the details of what social media companies\u00a0may\u00a0collect and know about you\u2014along with ways you can limit the data and information they gather.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

(Some of) the things social media companies may know about you<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n

Different social media platforms have different user agreements that cover what types of information they collect and use.\u00a0For starters, we\u2019ll speak broadly about social media companies in general,\u00a0and then we\u2019ll weave in\u00a0a few specific examples along the way. Generally, they\u00a0may\u00a0know:<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n