You will be surprised and perhaps not pleased to find your picture and personal Facebook information in advertisements without your permission

TripAdvisor uses Facebook personal information in webpages (click for larger image)

It shocked me when a friend told me my picture and travel history was on the TripAdvisor web page.

It was chilling and intriguing to look at the map of my mostly business travel from the 1980s and 1990s. Things are a lot quieter around here now.

How did TripAdvisor know where I had been?

Were they data-mining my old credit card records? Was the CIA keeping a file on me?

The truth is somewhat simpler – I gave it to Facebook.

Facebook is now allowing business pages and apps to use our personal information in advertising. This is part of their new efforts to monetize the free site. You do have control over your privacy but there are new places turn off the flow of private data.

Personal information can leak out of Facebook beyond the usual settings in “Privacy.”

Does it matter to you? It shocked me since I like to control my privacy.

I read about Facebook’s new feature to turn comments and posts into advertisements Is Facebook ‘Sponsored Stories’ turning its users into spammers?

If we “Like” a page that is commercial, the page owner can use our posts and comments in their marketing and advertising.

When it happens you feel like your privacy has been violated.

Turns out I innocently gave that information to TripAdvisor several years ago.

Remember those applications that teased you to add your favourite music or movie? They are gone from Facebook’s profile page but the data is still out there and being used for all sorts of purposes.

I can remember the week TripAdvisor showed up on my page and asked me to enter where I had been in the past. It was a pastime in an otherwise boring week and soon forgotten.

TripAdvisor didn’t forget. They kept the data and now use it to convince my Facebook friends that I somehow endorse their service, despite the fact I’ve never used them.

It took me an hour to figure out that my authorization for the “TripAdvisor” app was still current.

Apps, Games, and Websites Apps You Use

You’ll find the “apps” that can use your personal information under Privacy then Apps and Websites.

I had dozens of them and deleted all but a few essential links.

Other areas to check for personal information leakage include:

Info accessible through your friends

“Control what information is available to apps and websites when your friends use them.”

This is a complex area that allows personal information to leak through your friends privacy settings.

Game and app activity

“Who can see your recent games and app activity.”

Instant Personalization

Instant Personalization is probably where TripAdvisor got the right to link information. It was new to me and authorized automatically.

It provides a “rich experience” when visiting Facebook partner sites. That is a euphemism for getting people to buy with your unsolicited recommendation.

Public search

“Public search controls whether people who enter your name in a search engine will see a preview of your Facebook profile. Because some search engines cache information, some of your profile information may be available for a period of time after you turn public search off.”

It was chilling and intriguing to look at the map of my mostly business travel from the 1980s and 1990s. Things are a lot quieter around here now.