Is Facebook Outing Us?

[adrienner99]

I have a facebook page under my male name, and I have never visited a crossdressing friend or group on facebook. But I have just noticed that on the right side of my page, there is a column of Suggested Groups that includes crossdressing organizations. They can be deleted but new ones crop up every other day or so.

I am not certain if any of my FB friends can see the column on not, but I prefer they don't. Obviously facebook or google or someone is tracking where we all go online--I just did not realize they were posting such personal information on pages we supposedly control. I see ads all the time related to sites I visited, but the Suggested Groups column surprised and worried me.

Might be a good idea to check your own pages, unless you are already out to your FB friends.

[rachael.davis]

If you're running a later edition of Windows which doesn't give you access to site cookies they are being read by Faceboook as suggested ads

[Amy Lynn3]

I viewed an all in one briefer on Ebay and it showed up on my Facebook page. It was bubblegum pink and boy did I ever hear it from my male friends.

Avast antivirus is very good and has a really good sweep for cookie removal. The very best part about it....it's FREE and does a great job. They have some versions you pay for, so it is up to you.

[melanie206]

Rachael is correct. Delete all cookies and also your history. To prevent future leakage, there are two approaches. Either only use the private browsing mode of your browser or use a different browser for your CD browsing. Facebook is tricky and very tenacious about trying to associate you with other sites and advertisers. I used to have a FB account for Melanie as well as my male self but ultimately felt I couldn't completely control what it might be doing that could compromise things for me.

[Adriana Moretti]

ha ha........yup thats the reason....I keep getting ad's for Aesos and Forever 21.....Mark Zuckerburg is a sneaky fella.......the only one seeing that though is you.

For those of you already out..if you wanna linky link....
https://www.facebook.com/adriana.moretti.334

[Promethea]

Adrienne, it's not posting those things anywhere, it's only showing them to you.
The only way someone can see those suggestions is if they use your computer.

If you share your computer clearing the cookies and then begin to use private browsing for CD related things is the best option.

[Danitgirl1]

Not to make light of your situation/concerns, but I find it hilarious that my 'boy' Facebook serves me ads for women's clothes, whilst my 'girl' facebook serves me ads for either men's clothes OR endometriosis treatments. ODD
Have a great weekend
Daniella
xx

[melanie206]

Also, be careful on Amazon. Somewhere along the line it got the idea that I liked dresses and won't let it go no matter how many chain saw blades and floor jacks I look at.

[Michelle 78]

I know what you mean about Amazon, they do that to me too, every time you login they give you recommendations normally dresses etc. We have a store here in the UK called Debenhams (a department store like Macy's in the US) all you have to do is look at women's clothing on their site and you get e-mails a few days later asking if you are still interested in buying them!! nearly been caught out before because of that.

[I Am Paula]

Facebook is the world's largest, and richest information gathering business. Do you really think they gave you FB because they love you so much? They have one motive only- to track EVERYTHING you do with your computer. Not to be a conspiracy monger, no, they are not trying to find terrorists, they are concerned with what toothpaste you use. Facebook is outing you, to someone. It may never out you to people you know, but every advertiser knows your hobbies, and interests, and is trying to sell you something. If you are tired of this invasion of privacy, just delete your FB account...wait a minute...you can't. You can make your account inactive, but it's still counting your keystrokes, and deciding what sneakers you should wear.

[Alexis.j]

Its mainly google that does most of the analysis. ..
do yourself a favour and have a look at your google profile. I am a female, aged 28-30, and a bunch of other likes and interests, which, gets sold for personalised marketing. ..
I noticed google was the issue, because shortly after searching for something spicific, i got an advert popup on my Facebook page, regarding that specific thing.

[heather ann martin]

Completely "out"

[Megan Thomas]

just delete your FB account...wait a minute...you can't. You can make your account inactive

Actually you can delete your facebook account rather than make it inactive. Granted, it's not obvious or clear how to but I've recently managed it. I ended up using a search engine to find the link to deleting it though. Once done they mark it inactive for 14 days and then delete it. How deep the deletion goes within the facebook empire is another question altogether...

[Amy Lynn3]

Just another post to say Ebay tracks my searches and when I log in the pop ups come. They show me bras in my size, dresses, shoes or panties I have purchased or viewed in the past. I have no idea who they share information with and really could care less.

On the facebook site, all the personal information I gave them about me was my name. I'm sure they follow my key strokes, but I never gave them my home town, birthday or occupation. They always want to know where I attended school......I did mention a community college in one of my post and it says on my profile that is where I went to school....not.

[Shirley Anne]

I think Google is the problem rather than Facebook.I dont and never have used Facebook but am a member off various forums most vehicle related and the side ads that come up are allways for womens clothes and lingerie mostly from websites I have browsed.

[Cheryl Ann Owens]

It's funny this subject came up. Just two days ago I noticed on the right side of my FB page a Yahoo article about transgender youth so I read it. I know on my regular browsers I get ads for women's clothing and on FB get related searches from my ebay browsing.

I do have a couple GG friends who know me. I should call and ask them to check my profile page to see what it might show.

One time I sent a male friend the link to a news article. He jokingly mentioned that he wasn't interested in the clothing ads. I played dumb but found it interesting.

Cheryl

[~Joanne~]

Not to be a conspiracy monger

It's not a conspiracy when tracking you is what they are doing. It's all they do. I use chrome for facebook as google is just as bad so they can track each other.

[Lorileah]

Your profile page will only show what you have browsed for to YOU. What your friends will see is what they have surfed

[Megan Thomas]

It's also quite possible on your facebook page to view it as the public see it, so you can see it from the other side of the fence so to speak.

[MsDanii]

It could be very well doing it. These days with marketing in anything ebay, google, facebook. They all want our online $$.
Just practice safe surfing and you will be able to make the Internet the way.. you ... want it

I'm happy to show my profile if anyone wants to say hi :)

[RachelPortugal]

"Suggested friends" lists could potentially out you. Along side all those who have "mutual friends" there are those that you wonder why they have been suggested. I had some time to spare so I tried to follow the activity of a spurious "suggested friend" to find that they had commented on the same article as a friend. So anyone who comments on the same article as you could end up being a "suggested friend" for one of your friends.

Taking the scenario a bit further, I use my male email address for FB login and also for various news channels where I sometimes leave comments. My online name is not recognisable to anyone else viewing such pages, but my log-in email address is seen by my browser, could a comment via my male email address login on a trans related article elsewhere seep back into FB? How far is the reach of their tracking?

[reb.femme]

I'm on FB and just about anywhere else as my femme self these days, with website to match and so I've pretty much given up worrying to be honest. If anyone logs on to my laptop, my background is quite telling too.

Rebecca

[AletaHawk]

If you're trying to keep things a secret, make sure you use a separate browser and only browse in Private mode. I use Firefox strictly for my femme side stuff, so there's never any cross pollination between browsers.

[Lady Catherine]

I use a different browser for male and female stuff. Seems to work.

[Nicole Erin]

Facebook cannot be trusted with ANYthing.
Facebook privacy is about as "private" as running through a football stadium naked.

[JenniferYager]

Don't post a darn thing on facebook if you want it private.

I ended up deleting my Flickr account. I had a Facebook for Jenny, it tried to link to my male account, and that was all I needed to quit. I'll post here (the forums have done a good job staying private, thank you moderators!!).

[Beverley Sims]

I can not stress more than Jennifer's first line.
Also do not ever let your GMail accounts inhabit the one computer they will find references to each other as well.
They will identify the computer as being used by one and the same person.

[Stephanie47]

I use FireFox. I still find I must completely close out of a session in order avoid any references to anything. I find eBay annoying. When I log on to eBay it brings up items I may have looked at in the past, which may be items I wish to not wave in anyone's face. I would not like it if my granddaughter or wife were looking over my shoulder and a grouping of slips, hosiery and heels were to appear. I do not participate in social media sites. All of them are out there to make money, and, they are not sharing the dollars with you. You're the target.

[CostaRicaRachel]

That's funny, I used to get crossdresser ads on facebook, I just thought it was a
coincendence.

But, I did not want anyone to see the sites I visit so I started to
automatically delete everything on exit. I don't see them any more.

[BLUE ORCHID]

Hi Adrennier, I stay as far away from :devil:Facebook:devil: as I can !

I have a notation on my profile here that I am not on FACEBOOK .

[mariehart]

I always use the 'in private browsing' for any CD or similar related web sites so have never had any bothersome ads on FB. I simply don't want anything to appear in my internet history. So I'm pretty careful about my internet history and cookies in general. I have the same problem on my phone. For example if I type c, it automatically suggests crossdressers. I continually have to delete that.

[CONSUELO]

I have a Facebook page but it contains a minimum of information and I have a limited list of friends. On my web browser I often get messages about airline or hotels that I have recently looked when planning travel etc.

In one sense this entire privacy issue is worrisome and yet perhaps we have brought this on ourselves by putting out information on various web sites etc. and yet expecting that somehow it won't go any further.

An alternative approach might be to say that you don't care. This is what I am, this is what I am interested in and if you don't like it, go away.

[CynthiaD]

Data mining especially with recommender systems is one of the hottest research topics out there. Google and Amazon are two of the top funders of this research. If there's any way to get the information about your activities, they'll get it. They'll do it in ways you never thought of, and never imagined existed. It would take a mountain of legeslation to stop it, and given the pace of the research, it's doubtful that legeslation could even keep up.

For my part, I figure it's just the price of doing business, and ignore the whole thing.

[bimini1]

FB and Chrome will follow you everywhere you go. Both are just too dammed connected to everything. I had a femme Amazon account and reviewed a TG book. The review popped up on my male amazon account for all the world to see stuff I was reading. And then it would not let me delete it.

I finally said to hell with FB. Just too nerve racking to keep a lid on it.

[lingerieLiz]

Actually, the search engines don't care who you are they are interested in posting ads that will cause you to click on them. The same goes for social media sites and most other sites that offer free services. The free mail services scan your mail for key words to include as advertising. I'm lucky enough that my wife knows and knows I shop on line. We share computers and accounts so they don't know who does what. If you use store loyalty cards then you are telling the store what you like to eat, drink, wear, or whatever. Some of these stores share info also. Only way to be really sure is to use separate computers from different locations and never the twain shall meet.

Besides cookies, there is your IP address, network card mac address and the list goes on. For now most reputable companies don't try to crack through the private browser window. The truth is they don't have to. All you have to do is search the deleted files. One can also connect you across multiple computers if you log onto the same site. Scary isn't it!

[AngelaYVR]

- When you have finished with FB, make sure you log out. If you do not, the cookies are still linked to your account.
- Try using Ghostery on your browser, it blocks a lot of garbage (I use it on Firefox with Adblock Plus)
- Use this opt out thingy: http://www.networkadvertising.org/choices/

[IamAmy]

I always use in private browsing on the Internet. It doesn't show up on your history either. When you have finished just click the x in corner and everything is gone for good.

[PattiL]

There's a fantastic add on for firefox called Ghostery that combined with private browsing gives you a whole lot more control.

[Toronto Kristen]

Perhaps I am just paranoid but I am not on Facebook. Also, I use Firefox with Ghostery, Track Me Not, and Adblock Plus. Finally, I clear my history at the end of any session.

[Nikkilovesdresses]

Just because you're paranoid, don't mean they ain't out to getcha.

Never signed up for FB, never will, and I browse everything through Gibiru. A few ads make it into my gmail inbox, but not enough to be a nuisance.

[Charona]

According to recent news articles, Verizon is another company to be watched carefully. They are said to be attaching a "super cookie" to any web browsing done on their cell phones. It is said their marker cannot be deleted or blocked, and it is used (as one would expect) for advertising. A T & T was said to be using the technology too, but at least publicly they say they aren't using it any more.

[Eryn]

The chink in the "use two browsers" or "use two computers" armor is that if they are on the same network they will have the same IP address, so all that trouble you went to is for naught.

These days, everything is traceable because data is so easily linked. Ever wonder why gmail and yahoo mail so desperately want your mobile number? It's not because they want to help you recover your account. They want to link your anonymous email account to your real identity which is much more marketable! Even my wi-fi address is traceable to a physical location, due to Google Maps. This stuff used to be Orwellian fantasy, but today it is standard operating procedure.

That being said, nothing I do is illegal under the current regime. Whether it remains so in the future is unknown. To find an example of the really dark side of data mining you don't have to go farther than 1938 Germany. A lot of people were murdered by pieces of data innocently collected from them.

[Crissy Kay]

Interesting subject. I have FB acct. as my male self. I have never seen any cd stuff on it. I have separate names, or accounts on my pc, for my guy stuff, and my cd stuff. I log off one acct. before I log onto the other. So far it has worked. Also it helps me keep both my pc id's separate.

[CindyR]

I use epic browser (https://www.epicbrowser.com), based on Google Chrome. It blocks cookies, hides your IP, makes you very anonymous on the web. They explain a lot on the site too. Even if you are in incognito mode, which protects you from storing anything on your computer, Google uses IP tracking and other forms, to figure out that someone at your household shops for women s clothes, they sell that information to advertisers, who intern put adds in Facebook. I started using this browser when I saw HSN ads in of all things Skype. You can also look up addons for your browser that are ad-blockers, they work, ads wont show up.

[Stephanie Julianna]

Being of the "older" generation, I don't Facebook or Twitter. In my day if you were a "twit" that was not a compliment so why would I want to be a Twitterer? That being said, since I am not on those sites, I too am getting those ad bars for places I frequent like JJ House Evening Dresses and other places I go to often to either buy or just dream. Since I use Google Search I have to think it's them. I'm sure my wife sees them but at this point she could not possibly be surprised.

[SO1Adam12]

I have googled all kinds of things about crossdressing, ultimately bringing me to this site in a quest for information on the subject. I have never had anything appear on my FB page in regard to CDing.

The suggested sites on my page are usually related to pages I have already "liked" or things that I've disclosed about me in my profile - for example where I am from and what my interests are.

[Melanie Z]

Also, be careful on Amazon. Somewhere along the line it got the idea that I liked dresses and won't let it go no matter how many chain saw blades and floor jacks I look at.

Haha, I wonder where it got that idea. I have the same problem. I have to be careful not to look at Amazon in front of anybody even when I'm looking at unrelated things because women's clothes always pop up in the suggestions. In fact, I'm very guarded about my computer, I almost always lock the screen when I walk away from it, and I avoid letting anyone else use it. If I have to let someone, I clear my history and cookies or I insist on staying in control of the mouse and keyboard. Firefox has a setting under the privacy tab to make your address bar suggest nothing when typing in it - I would guess other browsers do too. I use the adblock plus and ghostery plugins that some others have mentioned to block most tracking.

I highly recommend never using your good email account to sign up for any website. If you don't have a 'junk' email address, create a new free account. And it bears repeating, don't trust Facebook with anything private, ever!

The good news is it's just computer programs looking at the data they collect on you, so they can target ads to you. Otherwise, these companies couldn't care less about your personal life.

[Diana1517]

Melanie Z, I'm agree with you 😊😊😊😙

[Tracii G]

I use different browsers and don't have that problem.
Girl page gets girly ads boy one gets boy ads Your friends can't see your ads so nothing to worry about.

[sabrinaedwards]

If you go to Internet Options you will see that there is a selection called " delete browsing history upon exit" When selecting this option, close your browser upon completing your task. For example if you have a feminine facebook page, exit upon completion and your cookies will be deleted. Note that by selecting this option you will not be saving pass words and id's , but you will experience a must faster machine speed.

[ange_o]

Facebook, Google etc usually have options hidden in your account settings to turn on/off targeted ads based on your browsing history. Turning that off is a good start.

The other thing I was warned of recently is if you are posting your pics anywhere online. Most cameras/phones insert an id into the data of the picture. So if someone took the time to look it up in a CD pic it's easy to search for any other pics online from the same camera that may link from your other day to day accounts.

[Tamara Croft]

I viewed an all in one briefer on Ebay and it showed up on my Facebook page. It was bubblegum pink and boy did I ever hear it from my male friends. Were they looking at your monitor then? because only YOU can see those ads on Facebook.


Avast antivirus is very good and has a really good sweep for cookie removal. The very best part about it....it's FREE and does a great job. They have some versions you pay for, so it is up to you. You do NOT need this tool to remove cookies, you can do that quite easily in the browser settings. A cookie is just a text file, it can't harm your computer.

I think many people really need to educate themselves about facebook, it's the most invasive social media network ever created and all their constant updates upset your settings, it pays to check them once in a while. I have done searches on google for something, even down to looking at clothes in my catalogue online, then I see them in the ads on facebook. The last straw was when a friend of mine said a specific word in a private message, the next thing I see was an ad with that exact word in it, so you're not safe even in private on there, it's disgusting!

Just one more thing about privacy, private messages here are just that, private, cannot be accessed by staff, by bots or by anything :)

[Promethea]

Were they looking at your monitor then? because only YOU can see those ads on Facebook.


She may have "liked" it, maybe accidentally, maybe not knowing like buttons on other sites are facebook likes. Back when I worked in IT we would call that a Layer 8 error.

[Katey888]

Facebook = spawn of :devil:

One day a server in Russia or China will suck EVERYTHING of your personal data out of it... :eek:

'nuff said...

Katey x

[Charona]

Facebook, Google etc usually have options hidden in your account settings to turn on/off targeted ads based on your browsing history. Turning that off is a good start.

The other thing I was warned of recently is if you are posting your pics anywhere online. Most cameras/phones insert an id into the data of the picture. So if someone took the time to look it up in a CD pic it's easy to search for any other pics online from the same camera that may link from your other day to day accounts.

Remember too that cell phone and tablet cameras often attach a GPS location tag to the pictures. I read somewhere that Facebook strips off those location tags before the pictures are posted, but I suspect they keep the information for their own uses. All current USA cell phones have GPS in them as a requirement for location of emergency (911) calls, and of course so they can alert you of nearby sales offers.

[Rhian]

I just ha a similar experience with Youtube, I was showing my Dad a video and an advert for high heels popped up and it's fair to say I got a funny look. Luckily occasionally you seem to get completely random adverts.

[Pink]

My dad didn't sign out of his Etsy, and now I'm hoping to goodness that Etsy doesn't show that I've been looking at feminine clothing this whole time.

Even more of a problem is that half would be considered not school appropriate clothing...

[PantyBoots]

I did see a transgender group on the recommended groups on the side, but besides that, I don't see much related to that.

[devida]

I was wondering why I started getting transgender group suggestions last time I logged into Facebook. I found it very useful. It looks like fb is one of the go to places for trans people. I'll have to sign up under my femme name.

As far as the browser goes I decided some time back that I preferred being served ads for lingerie and dresses so I make sure that I check in regularly at my favorite online stores. For me the web is doing exactly what I want, helping me dress well and feel good about being trans. Of course I don't care who knows I'm wearing clothes usually marketed for women. I mean, all they have to do is look at me. But really, nobody seems to care and I'm not dressing for the benefit of other people anyway.

[Alicia S]

actually it's scarier than you think. take a look at http://www.ted.com/talks/jennifer_golbeck_the_curly_fry_conundrum_why_socia l_media_likes_say_more_than_you_might_think watch what you like!!!

also relevant to what they let you see... http://www.ted.com/talks/eli_pariser_beware_online_filter_bubbles

[Helen_Highwater]

If you haven't already do it go through your FB settings and limit what you want it to show and what it links to. There are some apps that it's not possible to block but you can limit the "damage". Also as others have said, use a separate browser such as FireFox to break the Google chain.

[abbylhr]

Given Facebook's lack of care for privacy, I deleted my account over an year ago. Haven't missed it at all.

[luuv2dress]

I use an entirely different browser when viewing crossdressing forums and the like

[Charla McBee]

I recently gave up on this fight. I came out to myself a few months ago and more recently I have come out to my computer. I'm not using private mode anymore and have all my support sites saved along with my passwords. Whoever they are, they've already known I shop for women's clothes for years based on the ads I get. Honesty is the only way to win back control of this information.

[Alleyne66]

I use 2 computers. One for all my Cd needs and this forum with a bunch of apps for file deletion. And another one with saved passwords and no apps for facebook, entertainment and gaming.

[karinels]

I took care of this a few weeks ago when I changed my Facebook profile pic to one of me dressed. Now I do not have to worry about tracking anything or anyone seeing something I am not ready for them to see. I understand not everyone can do that, but for me it works.

[Nadya]

This has been common for me. I often get tons of advertisements depending on what I've most recently looked at (often it's shoes). Since I'm on my own computer all the time, it doesn't bother me much. I wish there was a way to bypass Facebook and still keep in touch with people. I do have an Ello account for my femme side. If anyone else has one, feel free to look me up on there. :)

[SuzanneS]

I think every website wants to accidentally "out" us.

I let my girlfriend do some Christmas shopping on my Amazon account and forgot that since I'm signed in that she can see my order history...nothing has been said, but I know she could have easily seen the earrings, belt, top, and dress that I bought in July.

Anyway, most of the ads on facebook seem to be of shoes and dresses for me, but the gf hasn't said a word, and if she does, I'll just pass it off as to her shopping on my computer... :) all is well.

Suzanne