Consumer Reports: How Facebook tracks your activity across the web

PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- We've all been there. You look at a product online or search something on a retail website and all of a sudden, ads for it miraculously appear on your Facebook feed.

Consumer Reports says it's not sorcery or telepathy - it's Facebook tracking you across the web.

In the wake of the data scandal, Facebook users are wondering just how much the social media network really knows about them. And the answer? A lot.

Facebook tracks you across the web, even on sites that don't seem to have any visible connection to the social media giant.

If you are logged into Facebook using the same browser you are using to surf the web, the company can track your activity.

A data security executive says this is true for a lot of the websites you might visit.

So what can you do to limit how much you're being tracked?

First, Consumer Reports says try ad blockers and anti-tracking software.

Also, use different email addresses for different services, but keep in mind that big tech companies like Facebook don't give you strong tools to opt out of this kind of data collection.

To read the full story from Consumer Reports: ConsumerReports.org

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