Washington Post: “Seven steps you can take to keep Facebook and Instagram from gathering so much of your personal information outside of their apps. If you ever get that eerie feeling Facebook or Instagram are listening to you, you’re not entirely hallucinating. Facebook says it’s not literally activating the microphones on our smartphones, but it is tracking what we do in other apps, websites and even real-world stores. That much data can make ads feel as on-point as if it was in the room. In a recent column, I investigated everything Facebook can passively learn about you, even when you stop using it for long stretches. Don’t be fooled by the kinder, gentler image of Instagram, either: It’s owned by Facebook and does the same kind of tracking as Facebook. So what can you do about it? If you’re very committed — or a bit techie — there are some steps you can take to try to hide from Facebook’s personal data vacuum…”