Facebook’s limits on using data brokers won’t stop tracking

NEW YORK – Facebook’s decision to stop working with third-party data collectors might earn it public-relations points, but it does little to protect your privacy.

It still has more than enough data on your interests and hobbies to target ads.

The company will still tap browser and device IDs to track visits to third-party sites and apps. And it will still have plenty from your use of its service — everything from the businesses and hobbies you “like” to the types of news articles you read and share.

Experts say Facebook can try to diffuse the criticism by saying it’s backing off on some data. But in reality, it doesn’t really need that data anymore. It might have been useful early on, but Facebook already has much of the data in-house.