Update: April 10, 2017: If you haven't seen a link at the top of your News Feed letting you know if your information was shared with Cambridge Analytica, there's an alternate route you can take to get answers.
Head to Facebook's Help Center page on Cambridge Analytica. Look for the heading "was my information shared" and you'll have your answer, for better or worse.
This article was originally published on April 9, 2017.
One of two messages will greet you at the top of your Facebook News Feed today. Each will have the heading "Protecting Your Information" and begin with a reiteration of "the importance of keeping your data safe." But the rest of the message either delivers good news — you were not affected by the Cambridge Analytica data breach, or not so good news — you are one of the estimated 87 million people whose data was involved in the incident.
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A quick refresher: In 2014, voter profiling company Cambridge Analytica collected Facebook user data through a third party site called "This Is Your Digital Life." The site, which administered a personality quiz, gained access to users who gave it permission along with the data of their friends — that's why the number of people affected is so large in scope.
Let's start with the good news. If you were not affected, you will be directed to the "Apps and Websites" section of Facebook's Settings. Here, you'll see all of the third-party apps that currently have permission to access some part of your Facebook account. You can limit these permissions or delete apps altogether. You'll also see a list of all the apps you've previously deleted.
Anyone who was affected by the data breach will see a link reading, "See How You're Affected." Click that, and you will be taken to a page letting you know what data might have been disclosed. There will also be links to Help Center articles — though those articles will not help you get your data back — and a link to your current third-party app Settings, in case this news makes you want to revoke all permissions currently in place.
If you are surprised by what you are seeing or have reactions to the message regarding the data breach, we want to hear from you. Email us with your thoughts.
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