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Can Facebook See Your Phone's Texts? Maybe, But Shhhhhh
By
Christopher Robbins
Published Feb 26, 2012
Modified Feb 26, 2012
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By
Christopher Robbins
Published Feb 26, 2012
Modified Feb 26, 2012
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Besides knowing that you're slightly more apt to purchase Uggs after your sixth use of the phrase "amazeballs" in under an hour, The Sunday Times of London reports [paywall] that Facebook, along with a slew of other cell phone apps, may be prying into your text messages, contacts, and other private data, even when your phone isn't in use. The paper discovered the gaps in privacy as it tested its own messaging app. ZDNet quotes a Facebook spokesperson as saying the Times' article is "completely wrong." They add that there is "no reading of user text messages," but acknowledge that their Android app requires that capability. But don't worry! They use it "just for our own testing."
ZDNet also has a handy chart of which applications know where we keep our Sailor Moon DVDs and which are considerably less intrusive (we knew we could count on you, Netflix).
via (ZDNet)
Apple announced earlier this month that they will tighten restrictions on data-mining applications, but a House subcommittee led by Rep. Henry Waxman has asked the company to provide more transparent answers regarding the "quiet understanding among many iOS app developers that it is acceptable to send a user's entire address book, without their permission, to remote servers and then store it for future reference."
And even if you throw your Droid, iPad and Kindle into the East River, you'll still have to find a way to disable the Zuckerberg Chip that's bolted to the base of your spine (remember that "Congratulations, You've Won!" pop-up you clicked on? Your spine never saw it coming).
Tagged
amazeballs
apple
droid
mark zuckerberg
privacy
sailor moon
uggs
Christopher Robbins
Christopher Robbins is a New York City reporter covering transportation, affordable housing, local politics, and criminal justice. His work has also appeared in New York Magazine, The Village Voice and The New York Times. Chris is a graduate of Patrick Henry High School in Roanoke, Virginia, and enjoys biking to Fort Tilden in the summertime.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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