Do you know what Facebook has saved on you?

Do you know what information Facebook has saved on you?

Take a moment and go to https://www.facebook.com/settings

At the bottom of the page you’ll see a link that says “Download a copy of your Facebook data.”

Click on the link and you will be directed to a page that will allow to “start your archive”.

In just a little bit an email will be sent to your primary Facebook email with an attachment that contains all the information Facebook currently has about you.

It’s almost mind boggling how much they store. For me personally they have stored such things as; every photo, every video AND every IP Address I have ever logged in from. That means they can tell the physical location of every time I have ever logged into Facebook.

So all of this information may seem a little overwhelming, but you are probably asking yourself “Why does it matter?” or “Who would ever need this anyways?” Well the answer is a lawyer, should you ever be involved in a lawsuit.

A great example of how all of this information can be used is the case Nucci v. Target. Earlier this year a woman (Nucci) was seeking damages after a falling in a Target in Florida. During the suit she was subjected to a few interesting requests from Target’s lawyers. At first Targets counsel attempted to file a letter of preservation for her Facebook account, as they had realized some of her photos posted on her account had been deleted after a deposition. The court did not grant the motion as they deemed it too broad, but that didn’t stop Target’s counsel from trying again and succeeding.

As originally reported by Victoria San Pedro at www.rumberger.com:

In the end the trial court compelled the plaintiff to (1) identify all social networking sites to which she was currently registered, (2) list her cell phone number and cell phone carrier, (3) produce copies or screenshots of all photographs associated with her social networking account during the two years prior to the subject incident; (4) produce copies or screenshots of all photographs associated with her social networking account from the date of loss to the present; and (5) copies of telephone calls made or received on the date of loss.

Now more than ever Social Media is becoming a “go to” aspect for not just legal cases but even employment. In this particular case it did seem as if the plaintiff was attempting to hide something from the court but that point is not the important aspect here. It is the fact that the woman was unaware that her social media channels could actually be used as legal evidence and was being reactive instead of proactive. YOU NEED TO KNOW what you ALREADY have on social media is the lesson to learn here. It may have been a court case for Ms. Nucci but it could just as easily be a new employer for you.

Do yourself a favor today and download what facebook has saved on you. Take the time to review all of the pictures and videos. Maybe it’s time to archive some of them privately on your own computer instead of keeping them on a social media site that everyone can access.