Facebook and Privacy: The Scale of Collection
Facebook (Meta) operates one of the most extensive personal data collection systems in existence. Across Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, and the Facebook Audience Network (which tracks users across millions of external websites through the Meta Pixel), Meta assembles detailed behavioral and identity profiles on billions of users.
Your Facebook account is a significant data collection point. These settings reduce — but do not eliminate — what Facebook collects and how it is used.
Who Can See Your Profile and Posts
Settings > Privacy > Your activity:
- Who can see your future posts: Friends (not Public unless you specifically want public posts)
- Who can see your past posts: Limit past posts to Friends using the "Limit Past Post Visibility" option
- Who can see the people, pages, and lists you follow: Friends
Settings > Privacy > How people find and contact you:
- Who can send you friend requests: Friends of friends (not Everyone)
- Who can see your friends list: Only me (reduces social engineering research)
- Who can look you up using your email/phone: Friends or Only me
- Do you want search engines to link to your profile: No
Profile Information Privacy
Settings > Profile and tagging:
- Who can post on your timeline: Only me or Friends
- Who can see what others post on your timeline: Friends
- Review posts you're tagged in: Enable (give yourself approval before tagged posts appear)
Go through each section of your profile and set the audience to Friends or Only me for information you do not want public:
- About > Work and Education: Friends
- About > Contact and Basic Info: Friends or Only me for phone/email
- About > Family and Relationships: Only me (family relationship maps are useful for social engineers)
Ad Targeting Settings
Settings > Ads > Ad preferences > How we show ads to you:
Disable data from partners: Settings > Ads > Data about your activity from partners > Set to Off. This stops Meta from using data collected from external websites (through the Meta Pixel) to target you with ads.
Review and limit interests: Ads > Ad topics > review what Meta thinks you are interested in. Remove categories that are sensitive or inaccurate.
Settings > Ads > Ad settings: Review and limit each category of ad personalization.
Off-Facebook Activity
Settings > Your Facebook information > Off-Facebook Activity
Review which external apps and websites have shared data with Facebook about your browsing. Disconnect the history and turn off future off-Facebook activity tracking.
This is the Meta Pixel data — tracking across external websites. Disconnecting it limits how Meta uses external behavioral data to build your advertising profile.
Data Download and Account Review
Settings > Your Facebook information > Download your information: Download a copy of your data to understand exactly what Facebook has collected.
Settings > Security and login > Where you're logged in: Review active sessions. Remove unrecognized or old sessions.
Using Temp90 for Facebook-Adjacent Registrations
Facebook itself requires a real email (used for account recovery) — use a permanent secondary email for Facebook, not Temp90.
For third-party apps that offer "Log in with Facebook," consider registering directly with those services using Temp90 instead. This prevents the data-sharing relationship between the third-party service and Facebook that occurs with Facebook Login.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can Facebook see my private messages?
Facebook Messenger messages are not end-to-end encrypted by default (though E2EE can be enabled in specific conversations). Facebook has access to Messenger content. WhatsApp uses E2EE by default, but metadata is shared with Facebook.
Does using privacy settings affect my Facebook experience?
Limiting ad targeting may result in less relevant (not fewer) ads. Limiting profile visibility reduces who can find you. The core Facebook experience — posts, groups, Marketplace, messaging — functions normally with restricted privacy settings.
Should I delete my Facebook account entirely?
For users who want the strongest privacy, yes. For users who actively use Facebook for groups, family communication, or marketplace activity, adjusting privacy settings to the level described here provides meaningful protection while maintaining functionality.
Conclusion
Facebook's data collection is extensive and the default settings favor maximum collection. The changes in this guide — post visibility, profile privacy, ad targeting limits, and off-Facebook activity disconnection — represent the most impactful available settings adjustments. Combined with using direct registration instead of Facebook Login for third-party services, these settings create a meaningfully more private Facebook experience.