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The amount of data Facebook Messenger collects from users is staggering

The amount of data Facebook Messenger collects from its users is staggering. The image below shows just how much user data the social media giant has access to.

Its no secret Facebook gets most of its revenue from advertisements. And to do this effectively, they make use of data collected from users. One of the channels social media company uses to collect data is through Facebook Messenger, the most popular messaging app in the world.

Recently, Apple announced a new privacy tool which shows iPhone and iPad users the data an apps collect. Unsurprisingly, this bothered companies, Facebook included, that use your data for their businesses. To be clear, it only shows iOS users the “data linked to you”. It doesn’t actually prevent you from stopping it from collecting said data.

The image below is from 9to5Mac and it shows the staggering amount of data Facebook collects from its users.

Facebook Messenger data collected from users

As you can see in the image above, other messaging apps WhatsApp, iMessage and Signal pale in comparison to what Facebook Messenger collects. Just look at the long laundry list of data it has access to: personal information such as contact information and location, purchase history, search history, browsing history, financial information, usage data, among other things.

With all the data Facebook has on us, we can assume it knows us better than we do ourselves. Despite the list, though, it remains to be seen if it influences user behavior when it comes to messaging apps. Simply put, do users even care?

9to5Mac also lists all the data Facebook Messenger has access to, under different categories such as Third-Party Advertising, Analytics, Product Personalization, App Functionality, and Other Purposes. You can check out the full list below.

Third-Party Advertising

PURCHASES
  • Purchase History
FINANCIAL INFO
  • Other Financial Info
LOCATION
  • Precise Location
  • Coarse Location
CONTACT INFO
  • Physical Address
  • Email Address
  • Name
  • Phone Number
  • Other User Contact Info
CONTACTS
  • Contacts
USER CONTENT
  • Photos or Videos
  • Gameplay Content
  • Other User Content
SEARCH HISTORY
  • Search History
BROWSING HISTORY
  • Browsing History
IDENTIFIERS
  • User ID
  • Device ID
USAGE DATA
  • Product Interaction
  • Advertising Data
  • Other Usage Data
DIAGNOSTICS
  • Crash Data
  • Performance Data
  • Other Diagnostic Data
OTHER DATA
  • Other Data Types

Developer’s Advertising or Marketing

PURCHASES
  • Purchase History
FINANCIAL INFO
  • Other Financial Info
LOCATION
  • Precise Location
  • Coarse Location
CONTACT INFO
  • Physical Address
  • Email Address
  • Name
  • Phone Number
  • Other User Contact Info
CONTACTS
  • Contacts
USER CONTENT
  • Photos or Videos
  • Gameplay Content
  • Other User Content
SEARCH HISTORY
  • Search History
BROWSING HISTORY
  • Browsing History
IDENTIFIERS
  • User ID
  • Device ID
USAGE DATA
  • Product Interaction
  • Advertising Data
  • Other Usage Data
DIAGNOSTICS
  • Crash Data
  • Performance Data
  • Other Diagnostic Data
OTHER DATA
  • Other Data Types

Analytics

HEALTH & FITNESS
  • Health
  • Fitness
PURCHASES
  • Purchase History
FINANCIAL INFO
  • Payment Info
  • Other Financial Info
LOCATION
  • Precise Location
  • Coarse Location
CONTACT INFO
  • Physical Address
  • Email Address
  • Name
  • Phone Number
  • Other User Contact Info
CONTACTS
  • Contacts
USER CONTENT
  • Photos or Videos
  • Audio Data
  • Gameplay Content
  • Customer Support
  • Other User Content
SEARCH HISTORY
  • Search History
BROWSING HISTORY
  • Browsing History
IDENTIFIERS
  • User ID
  • Device ID
USAGE DATA
  • Product Interaction
  • Advertising Data
  • Other Usage Data
SENSITIVE INFO
  • Sensitive Info
DIAGNOSTICS
  • Crash Data
  • Performance Data
  • Other Diagnostic Data
OTHER DATA
  • Other Data Types

Product Personalization

PURCHASES
  • Purchase History
FINANCIAL INFO
  • Other Financial Info
LOCATION
  • Precise Location
  • Coarse Location
CONTACT INFO
  • Physical Address
  • Email Address
  • Name
  • Phone Number
  • Other User Contact Info
CONTACTS
  • Contacts
USER CONTENT
  • Photos or Videos
  • Gameplay Content
  • Other User Content
SEARCH HISTORY
  • Search History
BROWSING HISTORY
  • Browsing History
IDENTIFIERS
  • User ID
  • Device ID
USAGE DATA
  • Product Interaction
  • Advertising Data
  • Other Usage Data
SENSITIVE INFO
  • Sensitive Info
DIAGNOSTICS
  • Crash Data
  • Performance Data
  • Other Diagnostic Data
OTHER DATA
  • Other Data Types

App Functionality

HEALTH & FITNESS
  • Health
  • Fitness
PURCHASES
  • Purchase History
FINANCIAL INFO
  • Payment Info
  • Credit Info
  • Other Financial Info
LOCATION
  • Precise Location
  • Coarse Location
CONTACT INFO
  • Physical Address
  • Email Address
  • Name
  • Phone Number
  • Other User Contact Info
CONTACTS
  • Contacts
USER CONTENT
  • Emails or Text Messages
  • Photos or Videos
  • Audio Data
  • Gameplay Content
  • Customer Support
  • Other User Content
SEARCH HISTORY
  • Search History
BROWSING HISTORY
  • Browsing History
IDENTIFIERS
  • User ID
  • Device ID
USAGE DATA
  • Product Interaction
  • Advertising Data
  • Other Usage Data
SENSITIVE INFO
  • Sensitive Info
DIAGNOSTICS
  • Crash Data
  • Performance Data
  • Other Diagnostic Data
OTHER DATA
  • Other Data Types

Other Purposes

PURCHASES
  • Purchase History
FINANCIAL INFO
  • Other Financial Info
LOCATION
  • Precise Location
  • Coarse Location
CONTACT INFO
  • Physical Address
  • Email Address
  • Name
  • Phone Number
  • Other User Contact Info
CONTACTS
  • Contacts
USER CONTENT
  • Photos or Videos
  • Gameplay Content
  • Customer Support
  • Other User Content
SEARCH HISTORY
  • Search History
BROWSING HISTORY
  • Browsing History
IDENTIFIERS
  • User ID
  • Device ID
USAGE DATA
  • Product Interaction
  • Advertising Data
  • Other Usage Data
DIAGNOSTICS
  • Crash Data
  • Performance Data
  • Other Diagnostic Data
OTHER DATA
  • Other Data Types

Bryan is a geek at heart and a tech enthusiast by choice. He has a strong background in corporate communications, marketing services, and customer relations having worked in the telecommunications and banking sectors for over two decades. In his spare time, he enjoys watching clips on YouTube and binge watching shows on Netflix.

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