Solcial Nuggets: Is Our Privacy Truly Guaranteed On Social Media?

Let’s think on this question: “Are our private information secure? Are we truly safe?”

There has been series of cases featuring stolen information, privacy breaches, and hacks that led to the exploitation of users’ personal data in social networks and even data monetization by the social media themselves, where they sell our data to companies for targeted advertisement.

These occurrences put us in a position where we have to question where we stand as it concerns the media. Is contemporary social media our friend or our enemy? I would like to refer to it as a “frenemy”. In this sense, we love to be in these platforms, but in more ways than we know, they put us in a disadvantageous position.

We are blinded by the fun we gain from these media that we unsee the many exploitive activities that go on regularly. To a great extent, Web2 social networks view us as their products rather than their partners.

In What Ways Are Our Private Information Exploited?

1. Data Monetization through Leaks and Mining

Ever wondered how social network like Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, etc make their money? They create a platform where millions to billions of people come to spend time and relate with people and it is not paid for, so where do they generate revenue?

Social media apps make money off businesses and companies that wish to advertise on their platform and in frequent cases they sell our information to these companies who want to direct their ads and campaigns to the right audience.

The process is in this manner: You install the app, forced to accept the terms and conditions if not you cannot continue. Unknowingly, with this procedure, you have granted the network an assess token to your account.

These access tokens are cookies that keep track and records of all your activities in the network. With those cookies running actively and pooling your information, social networks can easily sell them to companies who need them.

Note that there was no disclaimer anywhere letting you know your personal details can be sold, but it is and you really have no say, which is a appalling infringement of your human rights.

In 2017, Facebook harvested data from about 87 million Facebook users and exposed them to Cambridge Analytica, a consulting firm predominantly for political studies. These data were collected without consent from the users.

In an argument, Facebook team said they were used to aid the political campaigns and advertisements. But users’ data are meant to be private and secure to them and this breach went against their right to privacy and ownership.

Although the CEO of Facebook, Zuckerberg, testified before the US Congress and the social network was fined $5 billion, we know that a platform centered around advertisements and profit, will never protect our privacy above all else.

2. Data Scraping.

Due to the presence of cookies, a person’s data or information or messages can be easily scraped and harvested without any consent by research companies who the compiled data to other companies that need them.

A serious case of data scraping was recorded in 2011. Nielsen Co. committed a serious privacy violation by scraping the messages of members off the PatientsLikeMe online forum, where patients suffering from trauma can come let out their hearts to members of like-minds.

Nielsen Co. violated the safe place of these trauma patients by taking the messages of these people to sell them to others. Imagine how all those patients felt realizing that their trauma and words of pain were in the hands on people who wat to make money out of it.

It is simply disheartening!

3. Data Breach/Theft

Web2 social media accounts are so vulnerable, you can’t believe they are so susceptible to your data breech/theft within spilt seconds of security compromise.

Research states that 64% of Americans have experienced data theft/breach of some kind.

In 2020, Twitter was hacked leading to the hackers accessing several high-profile personalities accounts such as Elon Musk, Bill Gates, and President Joe Biden. On gaining entry, the attackers used the accounts to scam for money by tweeting posts that asked for donations

If it could happen to influential people, it just could you next.

How then can you prevent your online behavior and information from being scraped, leaked or tracked and how can your protect your privacy?

Unfortunately, on Web2 social networks, these are not plausible. You cannot control the data leaks and scraping. But there’s a platform that can give you the opposite of what you have going on in centralized social systems.

Solcial: The Solution To Privacy Infringement

Here is how Solcial is the solution.

Solcial is a Web3 social network that gives you access to a safe mode of content & information dissemination where there is a no censorship, no monitoring, and total privacy of your profile.

Let us change the status quo with Solcial. We want our personal data to be treated with respect, therefore, there is no need to give them out.

This Web3 based social network desists from what we have on contemporary media. We do not need to provide our information to open accounts and hence, they can not be sold.

Just open an account with Solcial with no KYC or personal information requirement. The data you insert is not collected by any central server and it is not transferrable, meaning they are exclusive to you alone.

Also, because you have to authenticate your account using your wallet, it reduces, to the barest minimum, the chances of hacks.

To know more about Solcial and be a part of its community:

Website: https://solcial.io

Blog: http://blog.solcial.io/

Telegram: https://t.me/solcial

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Email: hello@solcial.io