Meta reportedly gets data on its users from thousands of companies for targeting Facebook ads towards them. According to a new study from Consumer Reports (spotted by The Verge), researchers have discovered that on average, Facebook received data from 2,230 different companies for each of the 709 volunteers. One of the examples also showed that “nearly 48,000 different companies were found in the data of a single volunteer.” In total, Facebook data archives showed that 186,892 companies had provided data on all of the study’s participants.
How Meta uses this data to target ads
During the study, volunteers recruited with help from The Markup pulled their data from Facebook. For this, the volunteers used the social media platform’s Download Your Information tool and shared it with the researchers.
Companies using Meta’s advertising platform upload customers’ personal information and buying habits. This data is used by Meta to serve targeted ads to those people or people with similar profiles.
The researchers found that 96,000 of the companies listed were only targeting one of the volunteers. This indicated how microtargeting campaigns based on specific user data are easy and prevalent.

The data comes from various sources. This includes data brokers like LiveRamp, large retailers and even small businesses. Several companies use names or identifiers that make it difficult to identify them and hold them accountable for data-sharing practices.

The huge amount of data collected and the potential for misuse raise concerns about user privacy. Individuals may not be aware of the extent to which their information is being shared and used for targeted advertising. This may lead to privacy violations and personalised manipulation.
This research highlights why greater transparency and control over personal data on platforms like Facebook is needed. Users have the right to know what information is being collected about them, who it is being shared with, and how it is being used. Additionally, stricter regulations and enforcement measures are needed to protect user privacy and prevent the misuse of personal data for targeted advertising.