Does Cambridge Analytica have your info? Here’s how to check

As Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg heads to Washington, D.C., to testify before Congress about Cambridge Analytica exploiting user data, the site is now making it easy for users to see if their information was shared with the analytics firm.

The feature is listed in the company’s help center. Doing a search for “Cambridge” or “Cambridge Analytica” on the help center search bar will display the following page: “How can I tell if my info was shared with Cambridge Analytica?”

If you are logged into your Facebook account, the page will automatically tell you if your data was given to Cambridge Analytics via the “This is your digital life” app.

Since suspending Cambridge Analytica for exploiting user data, Facebook been on constant crisis-control for its negligent management of user information. In addition to giving users a quick way to check if their information was scraped by the analytics firm, the site has launched a data abuse bounty program to report app developers who may be misusing data.

Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg shared a post about the program on her public profile page:

Facebook says any bad actors identified by the data abuse program may face removal of their app from the platform, a forensic audit of related systems and legal action against the app’s company and any relevant parties.

There is no shortage of announcements from Facebook right now on the many actions it is taking to protect users. Yesterday, the company announced it was initiating an independent research project to determine social media’s impact on elections. In the last 22 days, Facebook has released 18 announcements about all the ways it’s helping users, from protecting user privacy to fighting fake news and making ads more transparent.

Just last week, the site made it possible for users to remove apps in bulk.

To see if your information was given to Cambridge Analytica, make sure you are logged into your Facebook account and go to: How can I tell if my info was shared with Cambridge Analytica?

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About The Author

Amy Gesenhues

Amy Gesenhues was a senior editor for Third Door Media, covering the latest news and updates for Marketing Land, Search Engine Land and MarTech Today. From 2009 to 2012, she was an award-winning syndicated columnist for a number of daily newspapers from New York to Texas. With more than ten years of marketing management experience, she has contributed to a variety of traditional and online publications, including MarketingProfs, SoftwareCEO, and Sales and Marketing Management Magazine. Read more of Amy's articles.