Whether or not you have a Facebook account, Facebook knows a lot about you. Even if you don’t frequent the world’s largest social network, chances are you do visit websites that contain Facebook widgets. These widgets–Like and Share buttons, Recommended lists, and comment sections–aren’t just simple hyperlinks. They contain code that transmits data back to Facebook and plants a tracking cookie into your browser.
That cookie stays with you even after you leave the page where you picked it up. Whenever you go to another web page with a Facebook widget–and a lot of sites have those widgets these days–the widget sees the cookie and takes notes. Those notes include the web page you visited, what browser you use, your approximate location, and what language you read in, among other data. The notes are transmitted back to Facebook via the widget.
Tracking cookies can stick around in your browser indefinitely if not deleted, slowly amassing a detailed record of articles you’ve read, items you’ve shopped for, and what forums you frequent, among other info. To reiterate, you do not need to be a member of Facebook for such tracking to take place.
With that information in hand, Facebook can now target you with ads. Again, this does not require you to have a Facebook account. In May 2016, the company announced the launch of Audience Network, an online advertising network that places ads both on and off Facebook. In particular, these ads show up in mobile apps.
If all this sounds a bit too much like corporate Big Brother snooping on your every move, you’re not far off the mark. Many websites need Facebook in order to reach a larger audience, so these social widgets are now so common that it can seem futile to try and avoid them. And it’s not just Facebook; Twitter, Google, Disqus, and other social networks use many of the same tactics.
Instead of avoiding pages that contain Facebook widgets altogether, why not just block the page elements that contain those widgets? Great idea! In this tutorial, we’ll show you a few ways to minimize social widget tracking and opt out of Facebook’s most invasive data collection.
Facebook Blocker is discontinued. Try Ad Block Plus instead
Until recently, Safari, Firefox, Opera, and Chrome users could use the Facebook Blocker browser extension to prevent Facebook widgets from loading. Unfortunately, this tool has been discontinued. But don’t worry, there are plenty of easy ways to accomplish the same result.
Preventing widgets from loading not only protects your privacy, it improves page load times. You can still use the actual Facebook app and websites as usual. This only affects external sites.
Plenty of Chrome extensions and Firefox plugins claim to do the same thing as Facebook Blocker did, but we’re going to use something a bit more general-purpose: Adblock Plus. Why? Because it’s very popular and has thus undergone enough scrutiny to know that it’s trustworthy, and because it’s regularly maintained. It works the same across all supported browsers, and it shows no signs of being discontinued in the foreseeable future. Finally, many of our readers already use it, so this will save you from adding clutter to your browser (and potentially an additional attack vector).
Here’s how to use Ad Block Plus to block Facebook widgets:
- Download and install Adblock Plus (ABP) on your browser (Chrome, Firefox) for free. Make sure you get Adblock Plus and not “Adblock” or “Adblocker”, which are separate extensions from different publishers. The links above will take you to the correct page for each extension.
- In Chrome, click the ABP icon to open its menu and click the gear at the top of the pop-up window.
- A new browser tab will appear. Click on Advanced in the left-hand menu.
- In the FILTER LISTS section, click the button that says + ADD FILTER LIST VIA URL
- Paste the following URL into the provided field: https://easylist-downloads.adblockplus.org/fanboy-social.txt
- Click the ADD A FILTER LIST button. You will then see that a filter list called Fanboy’s Social Blocking List has been added to the filter list
- A bit further down the page, you’ll see a section called MY FILTER LIST. Copy and paste the following lines exactly as they appear one at a time, hitting the +ADD button after each.
To block Facebook widgets:
||facebook.com/plugins/*
||connect.facebook.com
||connect.facebook.net
To block Twitter widgets:
||platform.twitter.com
That’s it! You can close out the ABP settings, and the changes should take effect immediately. Note that the filter list we’re using, Fanboy’s Social Blocking List, blocks almost all social media widgets across the board. If you would like to allow some of those through, you can edit the list and remove them as you please, or try a different list. If you like Fanboy’s list, you can donate to the project on their home page.
If there are sites where you’d like to keep the widgets turned on, you can add them to the Whitelisted domains list in the next tab over.
Opt out
The widget-blocking method above should work pretty much everywhere across the web, but it’s always good to opt out of interest-based advertising and tracking when possible.
Facebook users can opt out of Audience Network by going to this link.
- Log in if necessary.
- Click on Your information and permissions.
- Click on Your activity off Meta technologies.
- In the dialog box that appears. Click on the Recent activity option. You can choose Clear previous activity to remove all past activity or choose Disconnect specific activity to block only certain types of activity.
Non-Facebook users don’t have the option to opt out on Facebook, so you’ll have to use other means. You can enable Do Not Track in your browser and opt out of interest-based advertising from all companies, including Facebook, that are part of the Digital Advertising Alliance.
See also: How to improve your privacy and security on Facebook
Use a VPN
Up to this point, we’ve mainly demonstrated how to prevent Facebook from planting tracking cookies in your browser and opt out where possible. But you can still be tracked across the web using your IP address.
An IP address is a string of numbers and decimals unique to your device, and indeed, every device connected to the internet. It looks something like this:
123.213.132.32
Or, if you’re using the new IPv6 protocol:
2001:0db8:85a3:0000:0000:8a2e:0370:7334
Because it’s unique, it can be used to identify your device and approximate your location. That makes hiding your IP address an imperative for anyone who doesn’t want to be tracked online.
The best way to mask your IP address is with a VPN. Short for Virtual Private Network, a VPN encrypts all of a device’s internet traffic and routes it through an intermediary server in a location of your choosing. Once connected to the VPN, your real IP address will be masked by that of the VPN server.
NordVPN
NordVPN is our top VPN recommendation. The provider offers rock-solid privacy and security, easy-to-use apps, and fast connection speeds. The provider’s apps are available for Windows, Mac, Linux, Android, iPad, iPhone, Apple TV, and Android TV devices. Browser extensions are available for the Chrome, Edge, and Firefox platforms. The provider also works with select routers.
NordVPN also offers an ad blocker, a tracker blocker, and a URL cleaner that removes tracking parameters used by ad companies when the VPN is enabled.
Want to know more? Check out our full NordVPN review.
Surfshark
Surfshark is our VPN pick for users on a tight budget. The low-priced provider offers the same fine protection as high-priced VPNs, but at a much lower price. The provider also offers apps for most popular device platforms, including Windows, Mac, Linux, Android, iPad, iPhone, Apple TV, Android TV devices. Browser extensions are available for the Chrome, Edge, and Firefox platforms, and the provider works with several routers.
Surfshark also offers a feature called CleanWeb, which blocks ads and trackers when the VPN is enabled.
Want to know more? Read of detailed Surfshark review.
The extra encryption also prevents your ISP and any attackers on your local network from monitoring your online activity. As an added bonus, VPNs can be used to bypass web censorship in countries such as China and the UAE and unblock geographically restricted content online.
