FTC investigating Facebook following privacy scandals - NBC Right Now/KNDO/KNDU Tri-Cities, Yakima, WA |

KENNEWICK, WA - Many of us are on Facebook, but how much of our private information is being shared from there?

The Federal Trade Commission is going to look into the social media's privacy practices. The investigation follows a week of privacy scandals connected to the social media company. The FTC says it will look into whether the company engaged in unfair acts that could cause substantial  injury to consumers.

A statement by Facebook Deputy Chief Privacy Officer, Rob Sherman, reads: "We remain strongly committed to protecting people's information. We appreciate the opportunity to answer questions the FTC may have."

There's a way to find out what information Facebook has from your profile, and doing that is simple... but the results are terrifying.

By clicking on your Facebook settings - that's where you can start.

Click on your settings and right under manage account, you'll see "Download a Copy." Click download a copy and start your archive, then wait for that verification email.

The information you find may surprise you because it dates way back to when you first started your Facebook. One Facebook user, who wished to remain anonymous, tested this, and says her information dated all the way back to 2013.

"It gives you your photos, your messages and any websites you went to," she said.

The messages she found in her downloaded copy were all verbatim to how she wrote them, and she was in shock.

"Look at this, every single message people have sent me or I've sent; my birthday posts."

All of this information in the hands of the data collectors.

Facebook does allow you to choose privacy settings for each app you choose to use. This means if you want to keep the third-party app, but limit the amount of information you're giving it. This is so you have a measure of control.

These 4 easy steps below shows you how to do that.

1. Click in the navigation panel on the top right of Facebook and it will prompt a pull-down menu. Select Settings.

2. In the vertical menu on the left-hand side of the page, you’ll see a number of topics. Click on Apps.

3.It will pull up a grid of all the apps and games that you have allowed access to via your Facebook account. You’ll have to click on an app or game to edit its settings.

4. If you click on “Edit” for any particular app, it will tell you all of the personal data it has on you. Here is where you can adjust it accordingly.

If you click “Remove,” the app will be deleted from your Facebook account.