Facebook Suspends Personal Data-Sharing Feature 140
Suki I writes "Facebook has 'temporarily disabled' a controversial feature that allowed developers to access the home address and mobile numbers of users. The social network suspended the feature, introduced on Friday, after only three days. The decision follows feedback from users that the sharing-of-data process wasn't clearly explained and criticism from security firms that the feature was ripe for abuse."
A few days ago... (Score:4, Interesting)
The decision follows feedback from users that the sharing of data process wasn't clearly explained and criticism from security firms that the feature was ripe for abuse.
So basically they will just wait another few months, have a better explanation(an added sentence), and try again.
It really is a shame what Facebook has become. I joined back in 2005 when you had to register your account to a university with a university email address. Not many people had it, it felt like a unique little club that only a limited number of people could get into. The security was better in the sense that you had almost full control over anything anyone could see.
But now anyone can have a FB page from your grandmother to a company, it lost that unique feeling of being part of a club that was closed to outsiders.
I sanitized my account about 2 years ago with fake information except for my name and two photos. When they released the ability to backup your account I tried it and to my surprise all that was left was my sanitized information. Could old photos and posts be in their system? Yeah, but nothing that could really be used against me, although others that just posted whatever they wanted will not fair so well.
Nothing to see here, move along... (Score:5, Interesting)
Another attempt by Facebook to undermine its users' privacy? I'm shocked!
Facebook introduces some hugely draconian abuse of privacy, then 'backs off' - lather, rinse, repeat. And every time this happens, their users, and the public-at-large, get more and more immune to the controversy, and more and more immune to the abuse. That's why Facebook, and Google, and your-favourite-evil-giant-company, and your-country's-government, do this kind of thing.
Sadly, as a society, we keep falling for it, over and over again.
Re:Bad decision. I hope they reverse it. (Score:4, Interesting)
That's OK, I started a thread with friends on FB to change all that personal information to fake info to screw with scumbag app developers.
There is now another 350 people on facebook that has their home address as 1600 Pennsylvania Ave, Washington DC and 202-456-1414 as their phone number
Basically you are a FOOL if you give a website your real info if it's not being used to send items you bought to your home.
Facebook/Wikileaks (Score:5, Interesting)
Re:Well... (Score:4, Interesting)
It's truly bizarre connecting sharing or not of a number to what kind of a number it is.
I don't know USA, but here in Norway, you can generally find most cell-numbers the same place you find most regular numbers; http://tlf.no/ [tlf.no]
It's a choice - when you sign up for a number (either sort!) you get to *choose* if you want to be listed or not. What a concept ! Oh yeah, and precisely the same thing applies if you've got a VoIP line. (there's actually three levels; "listed, unlisted, secret" but that's details.