Facebook's decision to stop working with third-party data collectors might earn it public-relations points, but it does little to protect your privacy. The social network still has more than enough data on your interests and hobbies to target ads with precision. The company will still tap browser and device IDs to track visits to third-party sites and apps. And it will have lots more information from your use of its service - everything from the businesses and hobbies you "like" to the types of news articles you read and share. The data helps Facebook create profile targets - such as college-educated mothers in Detroit who like ice cream and the band Coldplay - for advertisers to reach. Limiting its partnership with data brokers also doesn't touch on the difficulty Facebook has had keeping your data out of the hands of other companies. The social network is in the spotlight following accusations that a data-mining firm used ill-gotten data from tens of millions of Facebook users to try to influence elections. Facebook may try to defuse that criticism by saying it's backing off on some data use, said Jon Reily, vice president of commerce strategy at the digital consulting company SapientRazorfish. But, he noted, "they didn't need that sixth wheel on a car anyway."

In a clear sign of who needs whom more, shares of Acxiom, a leading data collector that Facebook had contracted with, tumbled 19 percent Thursday. Facebook's stock saw a 4 percent gain, reversing some of the big losses it's suffered since the scandal involving Cambridge Analytica, a Trump-affiliated consulting firm, broke almost two weeks ago.

Late Wednesday, Facebook said it was shutting down a type of advertising product that allowed marketers to use data from people's offline lives to target them on Facebook.