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Facebook Implements 'Download Your Profile' Option

Posted by CmdrTaco on from the just-want-a-damn-rss-feed dept.

eldavojohn writes "Facebook is rolling out some new changes (including groups) that are supposed to liberate user control. But something that might interest Slashdot readers even more is that they now allow you to download all your information from Facebook. That's everything — all your posts, pictures, videos, friend lists, etc. A video from David of the Open Source team at Facebook explains how it will work, although I don't see that option on my profile yet (they are slowly rolling it out). There's not a lot of details yet, but they at least require you to click a link from an e-mail and reenter your password to get this (to avoid spambots harvesting everyone's data and careless use of public computers resulting in data leaks). Perhaps competitors like Diaspora would be interested in using this base information to germinate user seeds?"

6 of 114 comments (clear)

  1. No security concerns here... by Mazzie · · Score: 5, Insightful

    I hope there is an option to disable this in case your account is hacked and someone wants to download all of your data, oh wait, doh....

    --
    Having a bookmark to Google does not make you an expert on everything.
    1. Re:No security concerns here... by PPalmgren · · Score: 5, Insightful

      I'll have to give FB credit here where it is due. There have been major complaints that your FB data isn't portable, so they have you stuck in a lock-in. This is clearly a response to those complaints. I'll be the first to hate on FB, and I still don't have an account, but we can't have it both ways bro. This brought me one step closer to signing up.

  2. You know by Ryanrule · · Score: 5, Informative

    Facebook used to have a feature to dump your entire profile and contacts list as a csv. They removed that in the fall of 04.

  3. Re:Diaspora by Conspiracy_Of_Doves · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Even if diaspora dies, Appleseed is still around

    http://www.drumbeat.org/project/appleseed-social-networking

    --

    Technoli
  4. Re:A nice gesture of openness by NeverVotedBush · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Dude, it is one of the basic tenets in computer security to not click on links in e-mails that take you to websites where you enter login credentials.

    Those kinds of e-mails are known as phishing and spear phishing attacks. They are very common and very dangerous.

    Facebook has had no end of security problems. Now with the publicity that they will be sending out e-mails that have a link, wait a few days and see what hits in computer security news.

  5. Re:Well, The Response Was a Bit Harsh ... by corbettw · · Score: 5, Funny

    It's equally likely that after receiving black eyes instead of kudos, developers left Diaspora in droves.

    If only there were a term to describe it when people suddenly flee en masse from a larger group of people and/or location.

    --
    God invented whiskey so the Irish would not rule the world.