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Crosscurrents

Do you know who's spying on your Facebook reactions?

"Facebook" by Flickr user Chris. Used under CC BY-SA 2.0 / cropped and resized
Image Source: http://tinyurl.com/ogsmyfj

 

If you're on Facebook, you’ve probably noticed the new emojis you can use to express your feelings in reaction to a post. For those of you who don't know: Before, you could only "like" a post. But now you can also express anger, sadness, shock and love, too.

 

ALI WINSTON: "Don't use [Facebook]. If you don't feel comfortable with having this information available to the authorities, don't use it."

Advertisers mine these emojis to find out what you like and don’t like. What you may not have expected is that someone else studies your Facebook reactions —law enforcement.

Journalist Ali Winston reported on the new emojis for the Center for Investigative Reporting. He spoke with KALW's Hana Baba.

Listen to the audio player above to hear the interview.

Crosscurrents
Hana Baba is host of Crosscurrents, KALW's weeknight newsmagazine that broadcasts on KALW Public Radio in the San Francisco Bay Area.