Just got my Facebook account disabled...

[Mario]

With this message:

Hi Mario,
We've noticed some unusual activity on your Facebook account and have restricted its access to advertising. Any ads connected to your account are currently disabled.

I don't do any ads on my account. All I use it for is to post "New IMatch Version released" notices to people following me.
This was also the last post I made. Today, posting that IMatch 2025.3.2 was released.

I now have 180 days to "fix" this issue.
And the first thing Facebook demands is a full face scan to know that I'm "a human".
This is not only against the GDPR but I surely won't give Facebook, Meta and their 1,800 "partners" a scan of my face. For what purpose?

I think Facebook is not worth the trouble anymore.
I've never cared about it much, and we share things in the family without feeding Meta's AI.

I expect things to get worse over the next years...

[JohnZeman]

And to add to what you're going through facebook is loaded with phony click bait ads that can really put a hurt on your computer.  Just this morning I stumbled upon one that disabled my computer and wanted me to click on a link to "fix the problem."

No way I was going to click on anything then, other than what I had to do to shut my computer down.  Booted back up again and everything was fine, but I have no doubt I would have had massive problems had I actually clicked on the link to "fix" the problem.

[Mario]

No way I was going to click on anything then,

That's the smart thing to do. Well handled

[BanjoTom]

Would Bluesky be a useful alternative for letting IMatch users know when you create a new release?

[Tveloso]

I don't use Facebook myself, but my wife is a pretty regular user.  She has reconnected with some family members through Facebook, and participates regularly in a private family group. But:

facebook is loaded with phony click bait ads...

...and not too long ago, my wife fell prey to one of those.

It's surprising, because she's usually very careful.  If she sees a Facebook ad she might be interested in, she'll go to the website herself manually, instead if clicking any links, and is vigilant about steering clear of phishing emails (to the point of sometimes not trusting what turn out to be legitimate emails).

But this one time not too long ago, she fell prey to a phony LL Bean ad, that she said looked very real.  It was for boots or apparel that she was interested in (Facebook probably knew that), and it was a really good deal.  She actually made a purchase, on a site that looked to really be the LL Bean website, until she completed that purchase (and then it was clear it wasn't LL Bean).  Needless to say, that order was never delivered.

Ugh!

[Mario]

Would Bluesky be a useful alternative for letting IMatch users know when you create a new release?

I have Bluesky. Just see my signature below for the link.
I still have X.

You can also subscribe to the Announcement board here in the community (or any other board you are interested in).
You then get an email when a new post is made, e.g. when I announce a new update.
Click on your name at the very top of the community website.



All of this is not really necessary anymore, because IMatch has a built-in update checker and installer.

If you use IMA, just keep in mind that I always release a compatibility update when needed at the same time I ship an IMatch update. If you don't install the IMA update, you will get a warning about the database not being compatible - as a reminder to update IMA.