The Facebook Pixel (otherwise known as Meta Pixel) is a piece of JavaScript code that tracks and records visitor’s engagements when placed on a website HTML area. Meta embedded this code on Facebook and Instagram to track our every move even far beyond what we disclosed on these social media apps.
A tech journalist has unveiled how Meta has been tracking her every moves via her Facebook account. Matilda Davies said she’s being tracked an average of 33 times per day. The most scary part of it is that these trackings are mostly done on websites and applications that are not connected to your Facebook or Instagram account.
As we all know that Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp are Meta-owned companies, and these three social media platforms are the most actively used platforms in Africa. Facebook maintains the first position in the continent with an estimated 170 million active users. In essence, more than 44% of African netizens are on Facebook, and the platform is taking advantage of this to sacrifice user data privacy to promote its ad business.
Meta uses Data collected for ads optimization
Be rest assured that if you’re using any Meta-owned social media platforms, you’re being tracked as many activities of your day. Meta, through Facebook, will try to know everything about you; even though you go offline on the app, it will still tracks you to other websites and apps you use.
Matilda Davies explains that Facebook was tracking everything from her sleep to her online and in-store purchases. She was able to discover this through her downloaded data on the social platform. Legally, Facebook let users download their data and learn how it’s being used. So, you too can download your data and discover how Facebook is tracking you.
When Matilda Davies downloaded her data from Facebook, she discovered that Meta has been tracking her since she was 11-years old. Probably, not even when she created the Facebook account. She explains that an Alarm app was installed in her phone and this app has shared her sleeping activities with Meta more than 6,800 times in 2-years.
Meta has also tracked her ride-hailing activities from the growth of Uber and Bolt to her train tickets app to monitor her movements around the cities. The 28-years old record shows that Meta has tracked her usages on the taxi apps and train apps 42 times and 35 times respectively.
That’s just to mention few. In a nutshell, The Facebook Pixel tracks all your activities on the web and store it in Meta Data Base. Meta uses the data collected to enhance its Ad business. In Q4 2022, Meta Ad revenue was estimated to $31.3 billion. In the same period in 2023, the Ad revenue was estimated to $38.7 billion; this show a growth of 23.8% in advertising revenue for Meta in that year. In essence, using user’s data to fuel its advertising business has contributed 25% revenue growth to Meta.
However, it’s important to let you know that World tech giants including Meta and its subsidiary companies like Facebook and Instagram, are facing scrutinies from countries regulators about how they store and use their citizens data and information. In 2019, Facebook accept to pay a $5 billion fine to take to regulators’ corrections as mandated by the law. At that time, the social media firm also gave it words that it will enhance data privacy. However, as it is now, it seems the promise is far from becoming a reality.