Ever heard of Facebook’s secret “Other” folder? You’re not alone. Many were shocked to read reports of a second folder for private messages hidden in their inbox this week.

The folder – which you can find by opening your “Messages” and clicking on the “Other” tab next to “Inbox” – was intended to weed out annoying spam and unwanted messages from strangers but, in a lot of cases, actually contained job offers and messages from long-lost friends.

Well, the secret’s out.

Here are some other things about your favourite social media site you probably didn’t know:

  • Facebook knows a lot about you: Want to know exactly how much? Simply go to Account Settings and at the bottom of the "General Account Settings" window click “Download a copy of your Facebook data.” Facebook will generate a report documenting everything you’ve shared, from photos to job history to chats. Scary, right?
  • They want to dominate your phone: With the release of Facebook Home for Android, users are so deep in Facebook they need to actually exit the app to get to the rest of the stuff on their handset. Facebook Home puts your friends right at the forefront of your phone, with their status updates and photos immediately visible when you unlock the device. You can still get to your apps and surf the web, but you'll still need to pass through Zuckerberg's zoo to get there. What's in it for the social media giant? A stronger presence on mobile devices.
  • Facebook is watching you: If you’re signed in, and stay signed in while you browse elsewhere, Facebook keeps track of every site you visit that has a Like or Share button … even if you don’t click. If this idea bothers you, your best bet is to simply log out of Facebook when surfing the web.
  • Your personal life is now searchable: Anything you’ve publicly shared on Facebook, from favourite movies to sexual orientation, has been indexed and is now searchable with Facebook Graph Search. Instead of creepily sifting through someone’s “About” page or digging through their “Friends” list for information, Graph Search makes it easy to dig up information on people. Skeptical? Just try searching “Friends who like Nickelback.” Want to keep that little fact a secret? You might want to change your “Music” privacy settings.