In case you have been living under a rock, when the news broke out on 17^th March 2018 that UK-based data firm Cambridge Analytica had been acquiring data on 50 million Facebook users to be analysed to target voters in US President Donald Trump’s 2016 election campaign, people have only now finally come to understand the power of big data.

Celebrities and companies alike have come forward with the #DeleteFacebook trending topic on Twitter in the wake of the scandal or completely deleted their Facebook accounts.

Amongst them include:

ELON MUSK

It’s not a political statement and I didn’t do this because someone dared me to do it. Just don’t like Facebook. Gives me the willies. Sorry.

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) 24 March 2018

CHER

2day I did something VERY HARD 4 me.Facebook has helped me with my Charity, &there are amazing young Ppl there.I have a special friend (Lauren)who I Respect & Admire,but today I deleted my Facebook account .
I Love My🇺🇸🙏🏻.
I Believe….There are Things MORE”IMPORTANT”THAN💰💰

— Cher (@cher) 21 March 2018

MOZILLA

We champion platforms and technologies that are good for the web *and* for people. We stand up for transparency & user control because they make the web healthier for us all.

That’s why we’re taking a break from Facebook.

More here: https://t.co/ofeyIwO1FN

— Mozilla (@mozilla) 22 March 2018

PLAYBOY

We are stepping away from Facebook pic.twitter.com/4yFIdk2eDE

— Cooper Hefner (@cooperhefner) 28 March 2018

HOW WAS FACEBOOK USED TO HARVEST ALL THAT RAW DATA?

In 2014, a Cambridge University lecturer Aleksandr Kogan developed a Facebook app involving a personality quiz. In the process, not only did it collect the data and personal Facebook details of the quiz takers, but also any of the Facebook friends of the quiz takers.

Unfortunately, this means that even if you were careful in your privacy pertaining to such Facebook questionnaires, your data could have still been unknowingly harvested when your friends were less than cautious.

SHOULDN’T CAMBRIDGE ANALYTICA BE TO BLAME?

The thing is, Facebook has known about the flaw in these loopholes for developers for a long time coming. In fact, for more than two years. And allowed all of it to happen.

People are angry because in the beginning Facebook rejected the claim of a data breach. In a statement, Facebook claimed that:

“People knowingly provided their information, no systems were infiltrated, and no passwords or sensitive pieces of information were stolen or hacked.”

HOW TO DOWNLOAD YOUR FACEBOOK DATA

To download a copy of all your data that Facebook has on you is pretty simple.

Here are the steps:

1) Log in to your Facebook account on the web.

2) Go to your Facebook Settings page.

3) Under General, click on “Download a copy of your Facebook data”.

4) Click on Download Archive and enter your Facebook password when prompted.

5) You can now download the zip folder containing all your data pertaining to your profile information, posts, photos, videos, contacts, messages, everyone you have friended/de-friended, calls and SMS data, and more.

Read also:

What is Big Data? – Why You Should Be Concerned What Data Brokers Collect on You

What is IoT? – 4 Things to Consider on Security Before Buying IoT Devices For Yourself

What Exactly Can Your ISP See When You Surf the Web?