New reports are shedding light on the extent of Facebook’s ability to gobble up people’s private information. It appears the the company can also obtain very intimate data on users when they are not even using Facebook

Facebook can apparently obtain deeply personal information without explicit permission about some people through Google and Apple apps

Facebook is capable of using dual partnerships with Netflix and Spotifly, and other giant media groups, to acquire troves of user data without people even using the platform

Facebook spent years forging various partnership agreements with other digital media monsters to gobble up huge troves of users’ private data even when customers are not perusing the company’s platform. Recent media reports are now describing the extent of Facebook’s ability to peer into people’s lives.

Facebook began forming partnerships during the company’s early years with tech businesses, including online retailers, entertainment websites, along with automakers and media organizations, media reports show. CEO Mark Zuckerberg sought to weave the company’s services into virtually every website across the network, inoculating it from competition, The New York Times noted in December.

This technique allowed Facebook to obtain vast amounts of data, much of it without user permission. The company also used contact lists from partners like Spotify and Netflix to gain deeper insight into people’s relationships — one partner was Huawei, a Chinese-based company American officials believe is a security threat because of its connections to Beijing.

Zuckerberg did not mention the partnerships during a House congressional hearing in April 2018. New reports now show his empire apparently can collect highly personal information from many Google and Apple applications just seconds after users enter it, even if they have no connection with Facebook.

Users can decide not to grant permission for Google or Apple, which operate the two largest app stores, to access certain low-level types of information. But the company’s policies don’t usually apply to the information users provide directly to apps, which is sometimes the most deeply personal.