THE Facebook data scandal has changed the way many users think about the platform given its insidious data-collection techniques.

While there are a number of ways for protecting your personal data on the platform, none are more simple than using a new web browser plug-in that blocks Facebook from stealing your information.

Mozilla had been working on the “Facebook Container” add-on for Firefox for a number of years, but accelerated development in the wake of 50 million profiles having private information harvested from the social media platform.

“Facebook has a network of trackers on various websites. This code tracks you invisibly and it is often impossible to determine when this data is being shared,” Mozilla explained in a blog post.

“Facebook Container isolates your Facebook identity from the rest of your web activity. When you install it, you will continue to be able to use Facebook normally. Facebook can continue to deliver their service to you and send you advertising.

How to Delete Your Facebook Account (or Take Less Drastic Measures) How to Delete Your Facebook Account (or Take Less Drastic Measures)

“The difference is that it will be much harder for Facebook to use your activity collected off Facebook to send you ads and other targeted messages.”

The company adds that the type of data in the recent Cambridge Analytica incident would not have been prevented by Facebook Container, but the plug-in would give “users a choice to limit what they share”.

It added that Facebook wasn’t unique in their practice of collecting data, but was good reminder for those using the internet.

“As good privacy hygiene, it’s also worth reviewing your privacy settings for each app that you use regularly. With respect to Facebook, this link from EFF has useful advice on how to keep your data where you want it to be, under more of your control,” it wrote.

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