Facebook tries to clarify how it collects data when you're not on Facebook

Facebook outlined its data collection practices. According to Product Management Director David Baser, some third-party websites and apps send data about their users to Facebook, regardless of whether those users have Facebook profiles. In return for that information, Facebook helps those websites serve up relevant ads or receive analytics that help them understand how people use their services. The company gets this data from websites and apps that let people share or like posts using Facebook plugins, or log into the website with their Facebook accounts. Sites that use Facebook advertising or analytics tools also share data. Facebook also says it uses the data to improve its own ads and identify bots and bad actors. According to Facebook, the information it receives can include the name of the website or app, your IP address, your browser, what operating system you use and whether you've visited the third-party site before. Facebook says it can match that data to a Facebook profile, if the person has one. If not, the company claims the data does not get used to create a profile.