The Cambridge Analytica scandal is drawing attention to malicious data thieves and brokers. But every Facebook app—even the dumb, innocent ones—collected users’ personal data without even trying.

Downloaded my facebook data as a ZIP file Somehow it has my entire call history with my partner's mum

I'm going to assume that you weren't living in an internet-proof cave this weekend, and caught at least some of the stories about Cambridge Analytica and Facebook. The news first kicked off with the announcement of a data protection lawsuit...

Facebook bought his app for $16 billion

It’s true that the Cambridge Analytica incident wasn’t a security breach. It was something far worse.

Sandy Parakilas says numerous companies deployed these techniques – likely affecting hundreds of millions of users – and that Facebook looked the other way

The social network was said to have reached a deal with the executive to depart after disagreements over how to address its role in spreading disinformation.

It is easy to be misled into believing that the Cambridge Analytica story is about rogue data miners taking advantage of an innocent Facebook. Facebook’s decision to suspend Cambridge Analytica’s access, the use of terms like “data breach”, and a good deal of coverage in the media seems to follow these lines. That, however, misses the key point.

Facebook is using us. It is actively giving away our information. It is creating an echo chamber in the name of connection. It surfaces the divisive and destroys the real reason we began using social media in the first place – human connection. It is a cancer. I’ve begun the slow proces…

This story was updated at 10:37 p.m.

Christopher Wylie goes on the record to discuss his role in hijacking the profiles of millions of Facebook users in order to target the US electorate

Whistleblower describes how firm linked to former Trump adviser Steve Bannon compiled user data to target American voters• How Cambridge Analytica’s algorithms turned ‘likes’ into a political tool

Whistleblower details workings of Cambridge Analytica and its use of targeted political advertising that could be used to influence people's opinions

Début 2017, un chercheur madrilène a vu apparaître sur son fil d'actualité Facebook une étonnante invitation. «Connectez-vous à la communauté gay et louez des appartements à prix abordables à des gens comme vous!», indiquait la publicité colorée. Seul souci, celui-ci n'avait jamais indiqué à Facebook son orientation sexuelle. Comment une entreprise de location de vacances pouvait-elle le savoir? Et le contacter directement sur Facebook en fonction de cette information personnelle?

Avec deux autres confrères de l'Université Carlos III de Madrid, le chercheur a publié mi-février une enquête d'envergure pour mesurer si d'autres Européens avaient pu, comme lui, voir des publicités liées à leur orientation sexuelle, politique, religieuse ou à leur appartenance ethnique. Il ressort que 73% des utilisateurs européens de Facebook ont été «ciblés» par des experts en marketing en fonction de ces données dites «sensibles», avec l'aide de Facebook.

Facebook is now so good at watching what we do online—and even offline, wandering around the physical world—it doesn’t need to hear us to know what we like. Here are some ways to limit the amount of data Facebook and advertisers are collecting about you.