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Shockwave78

macrumors 65816
Original poster
Jul 10, 2010
1,083
61
Have any if you notice this lately. At the top of the Facebook app it will ask about you about recent things that you've done on your phone and whether not you want to post them. Just now and asked me if I wanted to post a website that I just looked at and gave the address.

How is it getting this information through Safari and how do I disable it?

Thanks!
 
Last edited:

vanilla.coffee

macrumors member
Jul 30, 2013
78
176
UK
I've noticed this too. I've looked at settings but cannot find where to disable it.
Not happy about this 'feature' at all !
 

lagwagon

Suspended
Oct 12, 2014
3,899
2,759
Calgary, Alberta, Canada
Have any if you notice this lately. At the top of the Facebook app it will ask about you about recent things that you've done on your phone and whether not you want to post them. Just now and asked me if I wanted to post a website that I just looked at and gave the address.

How is it getting this information through Safari and how do I disable it?

Thanks!

The only thing I've seen Facebook ask if I want to post (at the top of the app like the OP says) are things I've copied to the clipboard.

An example is when I've copy/pasted a YouTube link to send a friend in iMessage or text. Logging into Facebook app shortly after it has that same link queued up to post at the very top.

It's just looking at your copy clipboard.
 

C DM

macrumors Sandy Bridge
Oct 17, 2011
51,392
19,461
Have any if you notice this lately. At the top of the Facebook app it will ask about you about recent things that you've done on your phone and whether not you want to post them. Just now and asked me if I wanted to post a website that I just looked at and gave the address.

How is it getting this information through Safari and how do I disable it?

Thanks!
Was it a URL that you copied?
 

stooovie

macrumors 6502a
Nov 21, 2010
836
314
Classic FB tracking. Most websites have trackers so FB knows what you browse. They can record all kinds of behavior this way. Content blockers do help.
 

rorschach

macrumors 68020
Jul 27, 2003
2,299
1,977
Has nothing to do with tracking you. It just suggests if you have a URL copied to the clipboard. That's it.
 

MEJHarrison

macrumors 68000
Feb 2, 2009
1,522
2,723
In the last few days I've noticed that it now shows me my last 4-5 photos and I guess it's wanting me to post them. It's really annoying and I wish I could find a way to turn that feature off. If I want to post something, I'll post it. I don't need Facebook to do that thinking for me.
 

C DM

macrumors Sandy Bridge
Oct 17, 2011
51,392
19,461
In the last few days I've noticed that it now shows me my last 4-5 photos and I guess it's wanting me to post them. It's really annoying and I wish I could find a way to turn that feature off. If I want to post something, I'll post it. I don't need Facebook to do that thinking for me.
If you disable Facebook's access to photos it won't be able to suggest them.
 
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MEJHarrison

macrumors 68000
Feb 2, 2009
1,522
2,723
If you disable Facebook's access to photos it won't be able to suggest them.

Wouldn't that then prevent me from posting photos? I like posting photos from time to time. That doesn't mean I want Facebook looking through my photos on it's own accord. But I suspect it's an either-or thing.
 

C DM

macrumors Sandy Bridge
Oct 17, 2011
51,392
19,461
Wouldn't that then prevent me from posting photos? I like posting photos from time to time. That doesn't mean I want Facebook looking through my photos on it's own accord. But I suspect it's an either-or thing.
It would. In the sense of looking, it's not that Facebook is looking through the photos, it's more that the last few are suggested as ones for a user to select to post--they aren't actually sent or seen by anyone (including Facebook as a platform, just the local Facebook app on the device itself).
 

Soks

macrumors newbie
Apr 12, 2010
17
3
Planet-Earth...ish.
Facebook suggesting to post the latest pictures (and generating a notification about it) as well as suggesting to post any links in the paste buffer is something I find incredibly annoying too. I hope someone has a solution - or at least is added as a toggle by the developers somewhere down the line.
 
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jabingla2810

macrumors 68020
Oct 15, 2008
2,271
938
Facebook aren't tracking you outside the app or looking through your photos.

Facebook are using perfectly good APIs put in place to make their app better.

Delivery apps, for example, check your clipboard for tracking numbers to save you having to paste them. Perfectly normal. Facebook use your clipboard to check for website links, because it's not unreasonable to assume the user may want to share the link with their friends.

Until you actually share the link, nobody, not even Facebook can actually see it.

Same with photos. Facebook users often share photos, so again, Facebook present the user with recent photos they may want to share. Again, until you actually share a photo Facebook can't see anything. They are just using APIs provided by Apple to help users do something quickly, that might normally take a few steps.

No foul play here.

Perhaps Facebook should educate their users with this information better.
 

C DM

macrumors Sandy Bridge
Oct 17, 2011
51,392
19,461
Facebook suggesting to post the latest pictures (and generating a notification about it) as well as suggesting to post any links in the paste buffer is something I find incredibly annoying too. I hope someone has a solution - or at least is added as a toggle by the developers somewhere down the line.
Not much out there as far as links aside from perhaps you clearing your clipboard (since that's where that's coming from). And for photos, you can revoke Facebook's access to photos if you want.
 

alphonseM

macrumors member
Mar 29, 2014
85
38
Have any if you notice this lately. At the top of the Facebook app it will ask about you about recent things that you've done on your phone and whether not you want to post them. Just now and asked me if I wanted to post a website that I just looked at and gave the address.

How is it getting this information through Safari and how do I disable it?

Thanks!

Your clipboard + Facebook Connect would be my guess. I've installed Adblock Fast and Focus (an app made by Firefox) to block this kind of tracking. I suppose it could also work to only browse the web in privacy mode.
 

C DM

macrumors Sandy Bridge
Oct 17, 2011
51,392
19,461
Your clipboard + Facebook Connect would be my guess. I've installed Adblock Fast and Focus (an app made by Firefox) to block this kind of tracking. I suppose it could also work to only browse the web in privacy mode.
It's not really tracking in this case just surfacing the options that the OS makes available.
 

chrfr

macrumors G5
Jul 11, 2009
13,710
7,280
It's not really tracking in this case just surfacing the options that the OS makes available.
I would be very surprised if Facebook is not tracking URLs you have on your clipboard.
 

762999

Cancelled
Nov 9, 2012
891
509
In the last few days I've noticed that it now shows me my last 4-5 photos and I guess it's wanting me to post them. It's really annoying and I wish I could find a way to turn that feature off. If I want to post something, I'll post it. I don't need Facebook to do that thinking for me.

it have the same behaviour on Android, I deleted the app and put a shortcut to the web page instead.. Less intrusive! :)
 

MEJHarrison

macrumors 68000
Feb 2, 2009
1,522
2,723
Facebook aren't tracking you outside the app or looking through your photos.

I can't speak for others, but as for myself, I'm well aware of what Facebook is doing. I realize they're using an API in iOS to present data on my phone, without any round trips to Facebook, to perform a nice function for me (making it quicker and easier to upload or whatever). I fully understand that Facebook doesn't have access to my data until I post it on their site. I'm a developer and understand what's happening behind the scenes.

With that said, I don't care for it. 99% of the time I load Facebook, I'm not doing so to post one of the latest photos in my camera roll. And I find it annoying that Facebook is suggesting those photos. They're talking up screen space for no good reason (for ME). Posting a photo is so ridiculously easy on Facebook, I really don't feel the need for them to provide another service to me to do the same thing. And I already know of multiple ways to do it that are, in my opinion, just as simple.

I'm not suggesting that they remove the feature. I could see how it would be useful for some people I know. But I'd love to be able to turn it off on my device.

Crazy paranoia follows, so feel free to skip this little rant... I'm quite sure this is just me, but it almost comes across as begging. I'll post what I want to post. I don't need Facebook to make it easier and bug me to post things I might not have thought of. I don't need a computer telling me "hey, what don't you upload this also. We'd LOVE to have that data". That probably sounds quite silly, but to me it just seems like they're encouraging people to upload as much personal information as they can. I already have to ignore the requests for my phone number and other personal data. Now there's another place where they're asking me to give them something I have no intention of giving them. They need to just back off and be happy with what little I'm willing to give. I don't need a "personal assistant" suggesting data I should give to them. If this was real life and some dude kept knocking on my door everyday asking for something when I've already told him no multiple times previously, I'd be upset. I see no reason to accept that behavior because it's coming from code instead of a person.
 
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762999

Cancelled
Nov 9, 2012
891
509
... And I find it annoying that Facebook is suggesting those photos. They're talking up screen space for no good reason (for ME). Posting a photo is so ridiculously easy on Facebook...
I totally agree with your post but what I totally dislike is having the possibility of sending something I don't want by mistake. It simply weird to open Facebook and see personal pictures... knowing that hitting a button my mistake is a possibility. I simply removed it. I don't mind accessing the web version instead.
 

MEJHarrison

macrumors 68000
Feb 2, 2009
1,522
2,723
I totally agree with your post but what I totally dislike is having the possibility of sending something I don't want by mistake. It simply weird to open Facebook and see personal pictures... knowing that hitting a button my mistake is a possibility. I simply removed it. I don't mind accessing the web version instead.

Very, very true. I almost wrote that in fact but felt that I'd already gone on too long. I really don't want it so easy that I accidentally post things I don't want to. I WANT to just to jump through at least 1 small hoop.
 
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Jayson A

macrumors 68030
Sep 16, 2014
2,671
1,935
Using the Facebook app is probably the worst thing you can do. Use the website instead if you must use Facebook.
 
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