Facebook accused of spying on Internet users even when they're not using the app

Facebook is currently at the heart of a major scandal concerning its handling of personal data. In fact, several experts from the IMDEA Networks Institute have noticed fragments of code that pass data from Google Chrome to the Facebook application with the aim of recovering and analyzing potentially sensitive information.

Going into the details, the technique seems fairly simple. Tracking tools developed by Facebook, which are integrated on many sites with the stated purpose of better understanding harmless things like the effectiveness of ads, record the unique identifier of your web browser. They then transmit it to the Meta application on your phone. So, even if you're not logged into Facebook on Chrome, the application can access your entire browsing history. Worse still, the same applies if you're using the private browsing mode or if you delete your cookies.

According to estimates by the IMDEA Networks Institute, over 5.8 million sites are equipped with this tracking tool called “Pixel Meta”. What's more, Yandex, a Russian search browser, is said to apply use about the same technique, with tracking algorythms present on over 3 million sites.

Even if you're not personally worried about this little discovery, it's important to note that this violates Android usage rules, according to Ars Technica. Data sharing is subject to numerous regulations on Android.

Ars Technica contacted Google for comment on the subject, and the American technology giant clarified that this tracking technique used by the Meta protégé was in violation of the guidelines. Reportedly, countermeasures are already being developed to limit further abuse. And since the publication of this disconcerting discovery, no 'communication' between Google Chrome and the Facebook app has been spotted.

Finally, Meta has spoken out on this subject, referring to a “communication error concerning the application of certain Google policies”. For its part, Yandex asserts that it does not collect any sensitive data, and points out that what it is doing enables it to improve the personalization of its software.