4 ms·

I doubt this, since Facebook doesn't seem to care much about fantasy names. They get most interest data about you from within FB (what pages and posts you like

I doubt this, since Facebook doesn't seem to care much about fantasy names. They get most interest data about you from within FB (what pages and posts you like etc.) and from pages across the internet you visit through like buttons embedded there (even without clicking them). So there's a lot of relevant meta data directly linked to your account and no need for them to know your real name.

wfunction 10y ago
Does use of this [1] information not include attempting to match up the user's real-life name with his/her Facebook name? [1] https://www.facebook.com/help/494750870625830 https://www.facebook.com/help/494750870625830
mattnewton 10y ago
There was a good article on pro publica [0] (who I trust very much) about facebook's use of offline data source, and that presumably needs to be linked by real name [0] https://www.propublica.org/article/facebook-doesnt-tell-users-everything-it-really-knows-about-them https://www.propublica.org/article/facebook-doesnt-tell-user...
thanatropism 10y ago
Last time I tried to create an alt account they insisted on a phone number, though.
- blauditore 10y ago
  That's more about uniqueness than using your real name. Spam and fraud accounts are a rather big problem, and this is one way of raising the barrier for creating those. And yeah, Facebook surely has other motivation too, like not having your metadata scattered across multiple accounts. But I still don't see how knowing your real name would make a strong difference to them. I have quite a few FB friends that use obvious fantasy names (mostly for privacy reasons I think), and they don't seem to be banned or forced to change it.
  - mattnewton 10y ago
    As other people and myself have said elsewhere, they buy information from many personal information brokers, and this data (presumably) wants a real name to be linked. They can't know that fake names are fake in all instances (and have gotten a lot of backlash by trying to do so), but there real name policy would have a real effect on their ability to link offline data to your online profile so they can better sell your eyeballs to advertisers.
  - thanatropism 10y ago
    My whole real life is already on Facebook under my real name. But sometimes I wish I could say things on Facebook for a different group of people without my professors or my boss knowing.

wfunction 10y ago

Does use of this [1] information not include attempting to match up the user's real-life name with his/her Facebook name? [1] https://www.facebook.com/help/494750870625830 https://www.facebook.com/help/494750870625830

mattnewton 10y ago

There was a good article on pro publica [0] (who I trust very much) about facebook's use of offline data source, and that presumably needs to be linked by real name [0] https://www.propublica.org/article/facebook-doesnt-tell-users-everything-it-really-knows-about-them https://www.propublica.org/article/facebook-doesnt-tell-user...

thanatropism 10y ago

Last time I tried to create an alt account they insisted on a phone number, though.

blauditore 10y ago
That's more about uniqueness than using your real name. Spam and fraud accounts are a rather big problem, and this is one way of raising the barrier for creating those. And yeah, Facebook surely has other motivation too, like not having your metadata scattered across multiple accounts. But I still don't see how knowing your real name would make a strong difference to them. I have quite a few FB friends that use obvious fantasy names (mostly for privacy reasons I think), and they don't seem to be banned or forced to change it.
- mattnewton 10y ago
  As other people and myself have said elsewhere, they buy information from many personal information brokers, and this data (presumably) wants a real name to be linked. They can't know that fake names are fake in all instances (and have gotten a lot of backlash by trying to do so), but there real name policy would have a real effect on their ability to link offline data to your online profile so they can better sell your eyeballs to advertisers.
- thanatropism 10y ago
  My whole real life is already on Facebook under my real name. But sometimes I wish I could say things on Facebook for a different group of people without my professors or my boss knowing.