Facebook is still one of the clearest examples of an app that does much more than people realize. For many users, it’s where groups, events, Messenger connections, marketplace listings, and family updates all live. That’s exactly why people still use this app — even if they probably shouldn’t. This platform is still deeply ingrained in many people’s lives, especially among older audiences.
The privacy issue is that Facebook isn’t just about what you do on Facebook. Meta has long built its business on learning from user behavior across its own products and beyond. That includes ad interactions, activity connected through third-party integrations, and broader behavior that helps the tech giant build a much more detailed profile than most people picture when they think of “using Facebook.”
If you care about limiting how much one company knows about your interests, habits, and relationships, Facebook is one of the first apps worth staying away from. Unfortunately, there isn’t a social media platform you can use that doesn’t track your data, as pretty much all of them rely on it to make money. With that said, some more private social media platforms you can try are Bluesky and Mastodon.