We build privacy-preserving data products to help solve some of the world's biggest problems.
Timely insights and relevant datasets can improve how non-profits do their work, how researchers learn, and how policies are developed. When data is shared responsibly with the communities that need it, it can improve wellbeing and save lives.
About Facebook Data for Good
Facebook's Data for Good program includes tools built from privacy-protected data on our platform, as well as tools that we develop using satellite imagery and other publicly available sources.
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Open & Public Data Products
Some data products, like maps developed from satellite imagery and census data, are open, available and free to anyone who wants to use them. You can download these resources directly from this website or through our partners' websites.
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Non-public, Privacy-Preserving Data Products
In building data products, we take care to protect people's privacy. When handling data from non-public sources, our data teams use methods including:
- Privacy protection, which includes processes used to prevent a person's identity from being connected with information;
- Aggregation, which draws insights from the total number of people in a particular geographic region, rather than from individuals; and
- Smoothing, which combines population estimates for sparsely populated regions with nearby areas to avoid the possibility of re-identification.
We also follow legal procedures like data-sharing agreements, which ensure that our data is shared only with specific organizations that will use it for specific purposes.
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Partner Collaboration
Facebook's data products are built in collaboration with humanitarian organizations and universities, with a focus on improving lives. Our high resolution Population Density Maps, for instance, are the result of a partnership with the Center for International Earth Science Information Network at Columbia University, while our Disaster Maps product is constantly being refined based on inputs from our humanitarian partners like UNICEF, the World Food Programme, and the Red Cross. These collaborations ensure that our data products truly help partner organizations achieve their missions, whether its targeting relief during hurricanes or estimating the number of vaccinations needed in a village.
-
Open & Public Data Products
Some data products, like maps developed from satellite imagery and census data, are open, available and free to anyone who wants to use them. You can download these resources directly from this website or through our partners' websites.
-
Non-public, Privacy-Preserving Data Products
In building data products, we take care to protect people's privacy. When handling data from non-public sources, our data teams use methods including:
- Privacy protection, which includes processes used to prevent a person's identity from being connected with information;
- Aggregation, which draws insights from the total number of people in a particular geographic region, rather than from individuals; and
- Smoothing, which combines population estimates for sparsely populated regions with nearby areas to avoid the possibility of re-identification.
We also follow legal procedures like data-sharing agreements, which ensure that our data is shared only with specific organizations that will use it for specific purposes.
-
Partner Collaboration
Facebook's data products are built in collaboration with humanitarian organizations and universities, with a focus on improving lives. Our high resolution Population Density Maps, for instance, are the result of a partnership with the Center for International Earth Science Information Network at Columbia University, while our Disaster Maps product is constantly being refined based on inputs from our humanitarian partners like UNICEF, the World Food Programme, and the Red Cross. These collaborations ensure that our data products truly help partner organizations achieve their missions, whether its targeting relief during hurricanes or estimating the number of vaccinations needed in a village.
Our Programs
Collaborating with experts from across fields, our Data Strategy programs aim to build trust in the value and role of data as tool for long-term societal impact. For example, we are working with partners at the Trust, Transparency and Control Labs to improve user experiences around privacy and personal data, and we have also partnered with Startup Station Singapore and IMDA on a first-of-its-kind regulatory sandbox for data-driven innovation. At Startup Garage Paris, we implement UX research, host Design Jams, and help with start-up prototype development and testing. Facebook also co-founded Datum Future, a think tank dedicated to a future in which people are confident that their data creates value for society, and in 2018, we co-sponsored 35 global roundtables in over 25 cities with experts on the future value of data.
Our Methodology
Facebook's Data for Good team uses state-of-the-art methods to verify our models and ensure the accuracy of our products. For example, our Population Density Maps rely on machine learning techniques applied to a combination of satellite imagery and administrative data, using a variety of training data sources to increase accuracy. In survey data products like the Future of Business, we use weighting techniques to verify that our sample matches the population of interest. In all cases, Facebook's Data for Good products benefit from the technical expertise and input from our Core Data Science, Spatial Computing, AI and Research Teams, as well from our external partners working in universities and non-profits around the world.
Our Partners
Facebook's Data for Good Team partners with a wide range of humanitarian organizations, universities and think tanks. Some of our partners are listed below.
Press Inquiries
If you're interested in writing a story about Facebook's Data for Good Program, please email press@fb.com.