The privacy risks of Facebook Page setup & data sharing

Facebook Page setup: The basics with a hidden cost

When creating a Facebook Page, users are prompted to fill in basic information: name, category, bio, contact details, website link, and more. But behind the scenes, Meta (Facebook’s parent company) is already assembling a profile: not just of your Page, but of the administrators, visitors, and every click or impression made on the content. Even if your Page is public-facing, Facebook treats it as another signal in its larger data economy. This includes:

• Tracking admin activity via cookies, mobile app data, and IP addresses
• Collecting Page insights which aggregate audience behavior for “performance analytics” that fuel Facebook Ads
• Storing metadata from uploaded images, videos, and links
• Linking third-party data, especially if you've added a Meta Pixel to your external website

The result? A granular surveillance mechanism cloaked in the language of “insights” and “engagement.”

What data is shared, and with whom?

Facebook’s entire business model relies on behavioral data. When you create a Page, you consent to Meta sharing information with:

• Advertisers: Even if you don’t run ads, Meta uses your Page interactions to improve ad targeting elsewhere on the platform.
• Partner services: This includes integrations with Instagram, WhatsApp, and apps like Shopify or Mailchimp, where behavioral data flows bidirectionally.
• Analytics platforms: Third-party tools can be granted permission to monitor your Page, collecting even more signals.
• Meta itself: Most importantly, your Page content fuels Facebook’s internal algorithms that model user interests, social relationships, and ad performance.

Even a single “Like” or comment becomes part of Meta’s surveillance infrastructure.

Meta’s surveillance infrastructure extends far beyond Facebook Pages — recently expanding into AI training based on user content, even in regions with strong data laws like Europe.

Why metadata matters

Metadata is often overlooked — but it’s where much of the privacy erosion begins. For example:

• Uploading an image to your Page may include EXIF data, which can reveal the device, time, and location it was taken.

• Sharing a link lets Meta collect preview data, which includes the URL, content type, and even content length.

• Posting updates from your phone? Facebook logs device identifiers and network info, including signal strength and operating system.

These signals — seemingly harmless — are aggregated, cross-referenced, and monetized. In decentralized privacy systems like NymVPN, metadata is stripped or anonymized at the network layer. But in Facebook’s ecosystem, it’s a feature, not a bug.

Is there any way to make a Facebook Page private?

Short answer: Not really.

Facebook Pages are designed to be public-facing. You can limit who posts or comments, but you cannot make a Page private in the traditional sense. Admins and contributors must also use personal Facebook accounts, which further entangles their identity with the Page.

And even with restrictive settings, your audience interactions — likes, shares, messages — remain visible to Meta.

If you're privacy-conscious, consider these mitigation strategies:

1. Minimize third-party app integrations (especially analytics or e-commerce tools)
2. Avoid linking your Page to personal accounts used for private communication
3. Use burner devices or separate browser profiles when accessing Page settings
4. Host your community on privacy-first platforms like Matrix, Mastodon, or your own self-hosted website — with NymVPN for mixnet routing for traffic protection

What Nym recommends

Surveillance capitalism thrives on centralized platforms. Nym offers a radically different approach—one that protects not only your content but also your connection-level data.

NymVPN is not just a standard VPN. It routes your traffic through a decentralized mixnet that breaks the link between your IP address and your online activity, even from the VPN provider itself. That means:

• Your traffic is encrypted and anonymized at the network level
• Your IP address is hidden from both websites and NymVPN nodes
• No central authority can track your browsing metadata
• Censorship resistance is baked in, with strong protections against surveillance in authoritarian regions

Whether you're managing a public Page or running an entire digital community, download NymVPN to protect your traffic from being harvested.