3 ms·

What happens if a whatsapp user doesn't have a Facebook account? More interestingly, what if a someone never uses FB account on his/her phone, like I do?

csydas 10y ago
The latter isn't relevant - Facebook has full access to the data and likely has some major index to tie the two together. The simple communication data from Whatsapp alone is enough to find enough reference points for a high-confidence match with a Facebook profile. As for the former, also likely irrelevant - Facebook has been keeping Shadow Profiles [1-4] for some time now, and whether or not you have an account, Facebook probably knows a lot about you just from what you/other people/your browser leaks about you. This information likely will just be amalgamated into the existing profile. [1] http://www.digitaltrends.com/social-media/what-exactly-is-a-facebook-shadow-profile/ http://www.digitaltrends.com/social-media/what-exactly-is-a-... [2] http://www.digitaltrends.com/social-media/what-exactly-is-a-facebook-shadow-profile/ http://www.digitaltrends.com/social-media/what-exactly-is-a-... [3] http://www.wired.com/2014/10/privacy-friendster/ http://www.wired.com/2014/10/privacy-friendster/ [4] https://spideroak.com/articles/facebook-shadow-profiles-a-profile-of-you-that-you-never-created https://spideroak.com/articles/facebook-shadow-profiles-a-pr...
ProAm 10y ago
You'll have a shadow account on FB. They do this for all non-users.
dspig 10y ago
In my case, whatsapp asks to connect to my (non existent) facebook account every few weeks!
intoverflow2 10y ago
They store the data until you do (or until you register with a future FB product), if you finally get one they'll link the two together and already have an extensive profile of your behaviour they can now match with an FB profile. Having the FB account is just the last piece of the puzzle, they already know who you are if you use Insta and WhatsApp

csydas 10y ago

The latter isn't relevant - Facebook has full access to the data and likely has some major index to tie the two together. The simple communication data from Whatsapp alone is enough to find enough reference points for a high-confidence match with a Facebook profile. As for the former, also likely irrelevant - Facebook has been keeping Shadow Profiles [1-4] for some time now, and whether or not you have an account, Facebook probably knows a lot about you just from what you/other people/your browser leaks about you. This information likely will just be amalgamated into the existing profile. [1] http://www.digitaltrends.com/social-media/what-exactly-is-a-facebook-shadow-profile/ http://www.digitaltrends.com/social-media/what-exactly-is-a-... [2] http://www.digitaltrends.com/social-media/what-exactly-is-a-facebook-shadow-profile/ http://www.digitaltrends.com/social-media/what-exactly-is-a-... [3] http://www.wired.com/2014/10/privacy-friendster/ http://www.wired.com/2014/10/privacy-friendster/ [4] https://spideroak.com/articles/facebook-shadow-profiles-a-profile-of-you-that-you-never-created https://spideroak.com/articles/facebook-shadow-profiles-a-pr...

ProAm 10y ago

You'll have a shadow account on FB. They do this for all non-users.

dspig 10y ago

In my case, whatsapp asks to connect to my (non existent) facebook account every few weeks!

intoverflow2 10y ago

They store the data until you do (or until you register with a future FB product), if you finally get one they'll link the two together and already have an extensive profile of your behaviour they can now match with an FB profile. Having the FB account is just the last piece of the puzzle, they already know who you are if you use Insta and WhatsApp