Go read this exposé on how FAFSA got caught sending personal info to Facebook

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge

If you applied for financial aid through the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) in the US in early 2022, there's a good chance you got some personal information from Facebook.

The US Department of Education sent data from website visitors to Facebook, potentially including information submitted on forms like first and last name, country, phone number, and email address, as early as January 2022. The data collection began even before the user logs in to studentaid.gov.

The Department of Education initially denied that it was taking place, despite the finding code that clearly indicates otherwise. Federal Student Aid COO Richard Cordray told the publication that the data gathering was part of a March 22 advertising campaign. The data-sharing feature was turned off. The data was not used for any purpose, and it was not explained how they were able to verify that.

It is not known how much data was pulled in from students. Even though these students didn't agree to Facebook's privacy policy, the publication says this policy allows the company to retain such data for years.

To get a better sense of how pervasive Facebook's tracking capabilities across the web really are, you should read the full report.