Behind the Facebook profile you’ve built for yourself is another one, a shadow profile, built from the inboxes and smartphones of other Facebook users. Contact information you’ve never given the network gets associated with your account, making it easier for Facebook to more completely map your social connections.
Most people understand that Facebook is tracking their preferences whenever they are logged-in. But, few realize they’re being tracked in other ways too, even when logged-out of Facebook completely.
You might be wondering why this even matters, and how it really impacts you personally. The easiest way to answer those questions is to point out all of those big data breaches you hear about almost daily. Hackers rarely waste time on individuals these days. They’ve got much bigger fish to fry. Large retailers or the databases where these third-party companies store the information they’ve gathered.
Last year Kashmir Hill wrote a very interesting article last year for Gizmodo about How Facebook Figures Out Everyone You've Ever Met. Kashmir's article details how Facebook connects you with people through the contact lists and address books of other people, and is worth reading to understand how you are tracked and connected with others by Facebook.
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An interactive demonstration of risks from Facebook.
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