Facebook's ever changing privacy policies

I’m not upset that I deleted my Facebook page. I never really got much out of it and I felt like I was constantly spending time on Facebook just fixing the privacy settings that were always changing. Now comes details that Facebook is planning on invading the privacy of its users further by making available the addresses and phone numbers of users to third party apps and developers.

Even though Facebook continues to push the privacy envelope and has stated in founder Mark Zukerberg’s emails that he doesn’t care about users because they are all stupid, there are few who object to these invasions of privacy. Facebook’s continued violation of its users’ privacy should be ringing numerous alarm bells by now, but the fact is far too many don’t seem to care. While it is possible to turn of the sharing of information, you must actively do so. Opt out should not be the default option, but, since the majority of Facebook users aren’t objecting, Facebook will continue to push itself into more and more private areas of its users’ lives.

For some apps, there is a lot of information being collected and used.

Access my friends’ information
Birthdays, Religious and political views, Family members and relationship statuses, Significant others and relationship details, Home towns, Current locations, Likes, music, TV, movies, books, quotes, Activities, Interests, Education history, Work history, Online presence, Websites, Groups, Events, Notes, Photos, Videos, Photos and videos of them, ‘About me’ details and Facebook statuses

What is the justification for Facebook making this information available to third party developers? If you haven’t given permission for access, why are developers still being allowed access to the information via your friends? Why is it that the apps your friends installed can also access your information and this is the default setting unless you go into “Settings” and disable it?

The ability to access users’ home addresses will also open up more opportunities for identity theft, combined with the other data that can already be extracted from Facebook users’ profiles.

While the value proposition is clear, Facebook has used a questionable communication strategy. As previously mentioned, why would the company choose to post such a significant article at a time when most users are done with the week and now moving on to weekend activities? We can only see this as a deliberate effort to push the issue under the radar. This is exactly the type of communication that we don’t want from one of the most powerful identity providers in the world. Instead we want transparency from a company that expects its own users to be completely transparent.

By making the changes during the weekend, Facebook has again covertly admitted that they don’t care about its users or their privacy.

Despite Facebook’s reassurance that users will have the final say in who gets the info and who doesn’t, it didn’t take long for observers to point out that it will be easy for shady developers to get in on the action.

Just because app developers agree to follow Facebook’s terms doesn’t mean that they actually do, and many aren’t caught until it’s too late. We learned that much just a few months ago when a number of top Facebook apps were found to be collecting and selling user data against Facebook’s rules. Facebook ended up suspending those developers for six months, but by that time, the deed was already done.

The questions remains, just how much is too much and when will Facebook users finally say enough is enough and either delete their accounts or force Facebook to stop invading their privacy.

If you’re still confused about how to fix all the privacy settings, you can go to Sophos’ website and get help from their detailed guide.