Read this: https://www.theguardian.com/news/2018/mar/17/data-war-whistleblower-christopher-wylie-faceook-nix-bannon-trump

Why does Facebook exist? Why does Google exist?

The reason certainly isn't to keep you connected to friends and family, or to provide useful services for your internet life. Those aren't the reasons. *Those are the means.*

The reason these services and others exist is to gather data about you. They use this data to target ads at you, or they sell it wholesale.

You are not the consumer. You are the product. And as that article shows, the consumers of that data aren't likely to be serving your best interests.

A friend of mine made a list of the useful services Facebook provides, and why FB actually provides them:
* Broadcast communication available to everyone (but sorted and filtered by magic to maximize engagement)
* Likes and reactions (which trains sentiment analysis algorithms, to better inform the sort and filter magic)
* Comments and conversation (with likes and reactions, which further informs sentiment analysis)
* Groups and Pages for organizing (analyzed to profile interests and hobbies)
* Chat (analyzed to create personality and behavior profiles)
* Events and RSVPs (did I mention your ads profile?)

He also had this to say:
" And I want to dig into the "maximize engagement" thing for a second, because that's at the root of this Cambridge Analytica story. Some people are more equipped than others to identify scams, disinformation, and bullshit. Those people are less likely to engage with, or share that kind of content, and so Facebook decides not to show it to you.

Instead, it delivers that content to the people who ARE likely to fall for it, share it, talk about it, and it does so BY DESIGN. Facebook literally acts as an engine to deliver propaganda microtargeted to people likely to be affected by it. Facebook just deludes itself to thinking that the propaganda they deliver is only for Macy's or whatever."


Here's what you can do:

1. Stop using Google search.  Use Duck Duck Go instead. DDG doesn't put paid (and often irrelevant) ads at the top. It doesn't track your search history. It doesn't sell your personal information.

2. Stop using Chrome. At the very least, do not link it to your Google account. Use Firefox instead. Mozilla is a non-profit with a proven track record of respecting your privacy. Yes Firefox sucked. It stopped sucking in late 2017. Give it a try!

3. Install these Firefox addons:

* https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/ublock-origin/ GET THIS IF NOTHING ELSE.
* https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/google-search-link-fix/
* https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/trackmenot/
* https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/decentraleyes/ (I have not tested but looks promising)
* https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/disconnect/ (I have not tested but looks promising)
* https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/ghostery/?src=search (I have not tested, and may not be compatible with above)

Some of these actively protect you. Some of these simply make your information useless.

4. Disable GPS except when you really need it (navigation, etc.). Apple and Android track AND STORE your location as you travel. Stores can pay to know how many (and which?) Android users are visiting their stores, etc.