Facebook has joined a growing race among big technology companies seeking private information once regarded as off-limits: users' checking-account balances, recent credit card transactions and other facts of their personal finances and everyday lives, according to a Washington Post commentary. Facebook said that the data would not be shared with marketers or used for ad-targeting purposes, and no major U.S. financial institutions have announced that they’re interested in a joint arrangement. But a company representative said several unnamed banks and credit card companies have voiced interest in teaming up with the social network, even proposing their own potential deals. But Facebook’s past scandals over data privacy have left industry and privacy experts wondering how the more than 1 billion Facebook Messenger users might react to the company wanting to link their social media profiles with their private finances and spending histories. Facebook said that the banking information wouldn’t be included in the vast stores of information the site uses to build people’s personality profiles.
