How Facebook makes it hard for you to avoid sharing your data

In a post-GDPR Europe, asking not to collect data is supposed to be an easier and simpler process for any average person. But the world's largest technology companies are still making it very difficult for users to get it. A new infographic of the Norwegian Consumer Council perfectly illustrates how intricate the process can be.

In an epic flowchart produced as part of a new report on privacy practices at major tech companies, the council breaks down Facebook's privacy review process. It's a striking picture of the maze people must navigate to activate the most robust privacy settings.

The green arrows represent the path of least resistance to return to Facebook. In just four clicks, you can quickly accept Facebook's latest policies without changing anything and go back to your feed. But what if you want to disable everything, opt out of data sharing for ads, or adjust your facial recognition settings? That requires eight extra clicks and six additional chunks of text to read. Basically, if you want to change anything about what Facebook understands as standard, you have to go round and round to achieve it.

This kind of dark pattern, where complexity is added to an interface to deter change, has been around forever (it's called bureaucracy). Now we are witnessing it being used again to put limits on GDPR policy, to thwart everything.

Seen in Co.Design