Many of us have been there: You have a huge fight with your friend, and you need a place to vent. You log on to Facebook and begin to type out all the emotions you're feeling, and right as you're about to click the post button, logical thought kicks in and you delete the message.
No harm done, right? You were able to vent, your friend isn't hurt, and no one knows you typed the message in the first place. Unfortunately, that's not the case.
According to a report by Slate, Facebook keeps a tally of every deleted post. The social network calls these deleted posts "self-censorship," and it's interested in how, why and what we choose to censor. And Slate says it's a fairly simple process:
"To collect the text you type, Facebook sends code to your browser. That code automatically analyzes what you type into any text box and reports metadata back to Facebook."
Before you panic, there's some good news in all of this. As of right now, the social network isn't saving the text within the deleted post — it only keeps information related to the "self-censorship." BGR explains:
"[Facebook's] simply keeping a record of all the data surrounding self-censored posts … what time it was almost posted and whether it was set to be posted on a friend's page or on the user's own page."
What's the point of tracking this information?
Every post that fails to make it on the website is another wasted opportunity for Facebook to make money. True, the scathing post on a friend's wall isn't likely to affect Facebook's bottom line.
But consider the person who decides not to post about their love for Candy Crush Saga because they don't want to annoy their friends or face potential embarrassment. (Via YouTube / skillgaming)
Now you might be able to see why the company would be interested in this data. Facebook would rather you post everything because it increases the likelihood of the company making money, unless you want to post memes — Facebook doesn't like that. (Via TechCrunch)
