How to know if your Facebook data was shared with Cambridge Analytica?

Did Cambridge Analytica had access to your Facebook data? This new tool by Facebook will let you know.

By now you are aware of the fact that the social media giant Facebook scans each and everything you write on its messenger app including messages, pictures, files, and photos. You may also know that Facebook collected call and SMS logs of its app users on Android – But what’s worse is that the political consulting and data mining firm Cambridge Analytica betrayed Facebook users.

While this article was being written the founder and CEO of Facebook Mark Zuckerberg was testifying before Congress amid the massive Cambridge Analytica scandal in which initially it was reported that the data mining firm had access to data on 50 million Facebook profiles but last week the figure reached a whopping 87 million users.

The seriousness of the matter is obvious and that is why WhatsApp co-founder urged Facebook users to permanently delete their profiles (Btw, you can learn how to permanently delete your Facebook profile or delete your data in bulk.) But how would you know if your data was accessed by Cambridge Analytica?

A couple of days ago Facebook announced that it will be contacting each and every user impacted by the data breach, however, there is another way one can confirm whether you or your friends were tricked by Cambridge Analytica to share your data with the firm after logging into “This Is Your Digital Life” app.

Here is how to:

Facebook has developed a new tool that lets users know if they or their friends had their data accessed by Cambridge Analytica. Here are some easy and quick steps to follow:

1. Log into your Facebook account because in order to confirm if you were part of the scandal you need to login to your Facebook profile.
2. Open this link (do not worry, it is an official Facebook link, not a third-party link).
3. Now you will see “Was My Information Shared?” tab under which Facebook will confirm if your data was accessed by Cambridge Analytica.

Here is what Facebook showed to me when I checked if Cambridge Analytica used my data for malicious purposes:

“Based on our available records, neither you nor your friends logged into “This Is Your Digital Life.” As a result, it doesn’t appear your Facebook information was shared with Cambridge Analytica by “This Is Your Digital Life.”

A screenshot how the Facebook’s alert looks like:

Go ahead and check if you were tricked by Cambridge Analytica since the company is being accused of using the Facebook user data to influence Brexit campaign and US Presidental elections in 2017 since it also worked for Ted Cruz and Donald Trump’s presidential campaign.

Also, do not forget to check this in-depth article explaining how to delete your Facebook account permanently for good.

Image credit: DepositPhotos