Well-known Facebook applications have been caught collecting and disseminating personal data. The application developers market the details to advertisers targeting the private habits of Facebook users. FarmVille, TexasHoldEm Poker and FrontierVille are just a few of the Facebook apps revealed as clandestine collectors of personal user data from tens of millions of Facebook users. Facebook blocked access to the applications over the weekend after the news became public.
Issues with Facebook solitude again
Those who use Facebook applications ought to be aware that your details are being sold. Companies will target your online habits based on the games and data it gets whenever you play them. At least 25 advertising firms and information processing businesses were able to have access to Facebook user ID numbers because of Facebook applications, based on a Wall Street Journal investigation. The Journal wrote that transmitting the user IDs of Facebook users and their friends is a direct violation of Facebook rules, and raises more questions about Facebook privacy and the company’s ability or willingness to keep individual information secure.
Privacy being violated for a bit of a profit
Independent developers write many of the applications on Facebook. When a user puts an application on their profile, Facebook apps get a Facebook ID from the user, based on Ars Technica. The apps transmit Facebook ID numbers to their own servers, sometimes, even when Facebook privacy settings deny such access. Friends of users of applications, including Farmville, may have their info given to information tracking corporations. The application takes info from the user and its friends together. RapLeafInc, developer of Facebook apps such as LOLapps and Family Tree, was captured linking Facebook ID numbers with its own database and selling the information to no fewer than a dozen advertising firms.
Facebook application programmers apologize for what happened
Facebook made sure to shut down Rapleaf apps. This occurred on Friday. Information Week accounts that Facebook pulled the plug on popular games including Critter Island, Diva Life, Band of Heroes, Yakuza Lords, and Facebook versions of Dante’s Inferno and Champions Online. There’s a Facebook developer’s blog that explains the event. It said that collecting the private information was not designed to take place and only did as the browsers work that way. The data loophole was closed by Facebook. Then, the apps were able to be accessed by users again. Rather than apologize for invading their Facebook privacy, a LOLapps blog on Monday said the company had been sorry that the 150 million Facebook users playing its games had to go without them over the weekend.
Citations
Wall Street Journal
online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702304772804575558484075236968.html
Ars Technica
arstechnica.com/tech-policy/news/2010/10/many-faceook-apps-found-to-be-collecting-selling-user-info.ars
Information Week
informationweek.com/news/smb/security/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=227900160 and cid=RSSfeed_IWK_All
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