Skip to main content

Is Facebook creating ‘shadow profiles’ for non-members?

FacebookhaveFacebook is once again being investigated for its privacy practices, and an Ireland advocacy group says the site is building profiles for non-members. The complaint says Facebook is gathering a host of information on non-users, including names, email addresses, phone numbers, physical addresses, and work info and then creates what are being called “shadow profiles.”

“By gathering all this information, Facebook Ireland is creating extensive profiles of non-users and it is also enriching existing user profiles. This is done in the background without notice to the data subject; the user or non-users is only experiencing some of the result of these shadow profiles: There are ‘friend’ suggestions by Facebook Ireland based on the information or non-users get invitations showing many users that they actually know in real life,” the group says [PDF].

If it’s true, Facebook is guilty of breaking the Irish Data Protection Act. This isn’t the first time the social network has been in hot water overseas, but up to this point it hasn’t been accused of secretly constructing profiles. What’s more is that Facebook Ireland has to release personal data details upon request, and the complaint accuses it of holding back these non-users details.

How Facebook deals with user data continues to be highly controversial. Its new Open Graph will also heighten how it collects information, and account holders’ skepticism is warranted. Again and again, we’re warned to read the terms of use statements, use the security features, enlist the provided privacy tools—but the there are holes in all of these solutions.

The only sure-fire way to keep yourself safe from the perils of Facebook has been to not be on it—or so we thought. Facebook already has some 800 million users, so is it really subversively creating profiles in case non-members decide to sign up? If it is, it’s not alone. Building “shadow profiles” is sort of a networking site’s way of giving you a for instance of what being a member looks like.

Still, saying someone else does it is never a good defense—especially when you’re the world’s largest social network. And many people don’t have Facebook profiles for a reason, so the site might be edging a little too close to consumers’ boundaries. 

Editors' Recommendations

Topics
Elon Musk says Twitter will launch pricier Blue tier free of ads
A digital image of Elon Musk in front of a stylized background with the Twitter logo repeating.

Elon Musk said on Sunday that Twitter is planning to offer a higher-priced Blue subscription that will have zero ads.

Musk, who acquired Twitter in October 2022 in a deal worth $44 billion, didn’t say how much the new tier will cost, nor when it will launch.

Read more
What is Reddit?
A person using Reddit on a Macbook.

If you spend a lot of time online, chances are you’ve heard of Reddit. The site once billed itself as the “front page of the internet,” and that’s not an empty boast. As of November 2022, Reddit is the fourth most visited site in the U.S., according to Semrush, and the sixth most visited worldwide. So, what exactly is Reddit? Essentially, it’s a massive collection of forums where people can share news and content or comment on other people’s posts. Here's everything you need to know.
Further reading

Best subreddits
Most popular YouTube videos

Read more
How to undo reposts on TikTok (and why you should)
Undo Repost button on the TIkTok app.

Like most social media apps, TikTok allows its users to repost content they like so that they can show their followers. However, unlike apps like Twitter that make it clear exactly how to un repost and when you've successfully undone it, TikTok is a little more vague.

Read more