Facebook may as well inquire for our social surety number at this leg , especially after they might one solar day be able to tell whether a exploiter is full-bodied or piteous . In 2016 , the popular social medium web site filed for apatenton a new organisation that would use an algorithm to settle a user ’s wealth , however , this was only publicise on February 1 , 2018 .
The algorithm would use a compounding of answers that Facebook users give to certain question and information gathered from " actions performed by the user " to split mass into three separate mathematical group regarding their socioeconomic position – work out course , middle form , and upper class .
" [ The ] online scheme practice classifiers to omen the socioeconomic mathematical group of users of the online organization , " states the letters patent . " The classifier use models that are trained using features based on global selective information about a universe of user such as demographic information , gimmick ownership , cyberspace usage , household datum , and socio - economical condition . "
The social media titan will take a diverseness of information about its users into report in gild to judge their fiscal status . This will include their traveling chronicle , how many Internet - connected devices they own , and their eminent story of education . Those ripened 20 - 30 will be asked about instruction and Internet machine , while users aged between 30 and 40 will be ask whether they own a mansion , and if so , what metropolis it ’s in .
Using this kind of selective information allows Facebook to avoid directly asking its users how much they earn , something that might make people palpate uncomfortable . The system may also be able to feed selective information from exploiter ' actions on other websites back to Facebook .
Facebook is often knock due to its somewhat - encroaching targeted advertising proficiency , so the raw patented algorithm is evenhandedly unsurprising . Meanwhile , a patent of invention does n’t stand for that the technology will by all odds be used anytime before long , if at all . What ’s more , the algorithm wo n’t of necessity be completely exact , it will merely estimate a mortal ’s riches using a variety of info .
“ We often seek patents for engineering we never implement , and patents should not be take as an indication of next plans , ” a Facebook voice toldThe Hill .