(no subject)

[theweaselking]

jwz speaks eloquently:

Facebook changed their privacy policy, and largely screwed the pooch. Where by "the pooch" I mean "you" and by "screwed" I mean, if any of your friends ever posts a quiz result or installs any other app, the author of that quiz/app is able to get all of your Facebook details -- name, gender, city, friends, photos, pages, etc.

To be clear: installing an app doesn't just give away that information about you. It gives away that information about everyone who has friended you, and there is no way for them to opt out.

Facebook: once again, malicious and predatory in places where MySpace is just stupid.

If you've ever been dumb enough to put *anything* you don't want totally public to the entire internet on Facebook, that was dumb, but if you delete it now you *might* be able to keep your boss/ex/family/neighbours/pets from finding it.

Comments

[dgg.livejournal.com]

My favorite little piece of facebook insidiousness is when the naughty gifts app suddenly became a speed date match-up app that I simply couldn't get rid of. Thankfully, my GF had the same problem so neither of us had to convince the other that we were being unfaithful via the internet.

[argonel.livejournal.com]

I'm hoping that "were" was supposed to be a "weren't" becasue if you have to convince your SO that you are/were being unfaithful you have a decidely unusual relationship.

[dgg.livejournal.com]

aw crap!

Must learn not to post on LJ before my morning coffee..

Yes "were" should be "weren't"

[dorothy-parka.livejournal.com]

oy, gevalt. how annoying. ultimately, tho, it screws facebook if people become too paranoid to use the site.

[fengi.livejournal.com]

Facebook has removed the option for displaying birthdate without the year. It's all or nothing. This is mostly an issue of vanity and not privacy, but considering how people balkanize by age, not an improvement.

[leonard-arlotte.livejournal.com]

My birthdate doesn't display the year. I just didn't tell what year I was born.

I've been on the 'Net long enough to know that when I put anything on a site like that, everyone in the world is going to be able to see it. I have no expectation of privacy.

All my friends and family are far less inhibited than me about what they post, so they don't seem to mind either. It's another case of Caveat Poster.

[scixual.livejournal.com]

I dunno, it seems like much ado about nothing; I checked the settings, and nothing is being shared that I didn't already have available to the general public. A few of my friends who were worried on the subject found similar things.

I, at least, got notice that there were changes being made, and was enjoined to check settings.

"Malicious and Predatory" seems a bit much.

[ronebofh.livejournal.com]

Yeah, it's just Facebook-class cluelessness. It's not news to anyone who's been paying attention; they don't get it, and they never will.

[viloki9.livejournal.com]

Yes! My disdain for Facebook has paid off! Now I can mock those who ask me why I'm never on Facebook.

[everbloom.livejournal.com]

I also!

DORIS!!!!

[peterchayward.livejournal.com]

BIG KNIGHTS!!!

HOLY CRAP I LOVE THAT SHOW!

[mitchy.livejournal.com]

I checked my settings today and I have to agree with the other poster, there was nothing there that wasn't already set. Everything is Friends Only and has stayed that way. I do think this is a storm in a tea cup.

[gothpanda.livejournal.com]

According to Facebook's own privacy statement: "If your friend uses an application that you do not use, you can control what types of information the application can access. Please note that applications will always be able to access your publicly available information (Name, Profile Picture, Gender, Current City, Networks, Friend List, and Pages) and information that is visible to Everyone." That's an exact quote. You cannot hide this information from Apps anymore.

And as the article points out, your friends list and pages information can be used to determine your likely sexual orientation, political affiliation, etc. All someone who wanted to know that information would have to do is pay an App developer. Congrats, you just lost the chance at the job you wanted because you support Planned Parenthood or because you have too many gay friends on Facebook! That's not okay.

[larabeaton.livejournal.com]

"Please note that applications will always be able to access your publicly available information (Name, Profile Picture, Gender, Current City, Networks, Friend List, and Pages) and information that is visible to Everyone." That's an exact quote. You cannot hide this information from Apps anymore.

Yes, you can. You can limit the access to what you have set in your privacy settings as being available to everyone. Applications you specifically add can see the information that you specify that they can see. Applications that you have not added can only see publicly available information. If you have said that everyone can see your profile picture, the app can see your profile picture. If you have said that only friends can see it, then the app cannot.

If your friends add applications, you can set what information those applications can see. I have set mine such that those apps can see absolutely nothing.

[gothpanda.livejournal.com]

Respectfully, I don't think that's correct. If you read the article that theweaselking posted, it seems that PAI (publicly available information) is now always available, and separate from "information that is available to everyone." Your PAI is always available to apps, regardless of your settings--there used to be a button that would disable this feature but it has been removed. Those specific PAI items--name, profile picture, gender, current city, etc.--are not within your control anymore. They're always available. PAI and "information that is available to everyone" are not the same thing, they are two separate items, if I understand correctly from the article and wording of the privacy statement.

[senorcameltoe.livejournal.com]

Respectfully, there is a very simple solution to this situation. Do not have any PAI. Set your privacy settings to only allow information to Friends. People who are not Friends can't even see I exist on Facebook. Applications behave the same way.

[gothpanda.livejournal.com]

Okay that's the entire point this article is making: you do not have that option anymore. Apps can see your PAI regardless of your settings, even if they're apps your friends are using.

[gothpanda.livejournal.com]

Thanks for sharing this, have shared it on FB (ironically) and let the FB people know I'm not happy about it. If they don't change it I might ditch FB, this is NOT okay.

[athelind.livejournal.com]

I still don't get Facebook. What is it? I can't see any pages, and all anyone will say is that it's a "social networking site".

I "get" LiveJournal. It's a blog site that makes it simple to aggregate blogs you like to read into a "friends" list, and allow certain levels of trusted access to the people on that list. I get what people DO here; it's a BLOG. Same with DeviantArt; it's an art site with interactive comments and journals. At its core, though, people post ART.

Hell, I even get MySpace: it's Geocities 2.0.

But I don't get Facebook. From all the descriptions I've heard, it's Links Without Content.

I've had a few people say, "why don't you just sign up and see for yourself?"

... is it just me, or is there something inherently cultish about that phrase?

Y'know, I should just make this a full-on post in my own LJ.

[kadath.livejournal.com]

As far as I can tell, it's like Twitter except if Twitter constantly harassed you to sign up for every single last stupid Flash game your friends were playing.

I have an account so I can get at contact info for people from my past, meaning I log in once every couple of months, get the address I was looking for, then block all the app requests.

[fearmeforiampink]

It's twitter with the status updates, along with some of that being built in stuff ('In a relationship with...')

It's 1001 stupid little games that revolve around you vaugely interacting with other folk, but not really.

It's a vaugely okay event annouce/plan/discuss thing.

And finally, and the main reason I'm on there, it's a means of getting in touch with people I otherwise couldn't easily get a message to.

[ice-hesitant.livejournal.com]

It's Microsoft Outlook or Lotus Notes but for personal life. You can schedule events and invite your friends to come.

It's also a great way to share photos with friends and family. People mark each other in every photo (and you can always veto if you hate the photo) and then it's easy to find later.

It's also a decent way to keep track of what people you don't talk to every day but know are up to.

[tsunami-ryuu.livejournal.com]

It's best used as an online phonebook/organizing service for your friends, especially those who are hard to get in contact with. I like it only because I can keep up with my friends' changing addresses and phone numbers, and because it makes inviting groups of people to events much easier (everything is centralized, so you're not stuck fielding phonecalls and sending bulk emails). Everything else -- status updates, applications, groups, etc. -- is stupid.

[ladyfox7oaks.livejournal.com]

And yet ANOTHER reason (to add to the 4,989,300,602 other reasons,) WHY I don't use, have not signed up for, and probably will not EVER go to Facebook.

[everbloom.livejournal.com]

High five!

[dykewife.livejournal.com]

last year i followed their instructions on how to delete my facebook account. i'm not talking about where the account just become inactive, but to actually delete the account. i followed the instructions and was told at the final step that in 30 days after that my account would be deleted, not to arise again.

this fall i decided i wanted to be in closer contact with some family members and tried to sign up again. needless to say my account was still there, all the information, all the contacts, all the friends, they were all still there. the account hadn't been deleted at all.

so, either the developers don't know what they're doing (which is quite possible all things considered) or else they're lying sacks of fecal matter. both are possible.

[hel]

Well, for some values of 'all'. It can be easily set to not get most things (settings, privacy settings, applications. You can't stop it getting your Name, Profile Picture (the 1 pic that is currently set as your profile pic), Gender, Current City, Networks, Friend List, and Pages. Your wall posts and all your pix that are NOT currently your profile pic, are safe, if you set them so.