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Top Facebook Apps Violate Privacy Terms
cgriffin21 writes "No stranger to privacy concerns, Facebook is once again in the privacy spotlight, following a Wall Street Journal report that some popular Facebook applications leak personal information to advertisers. 'Many of the popular applications, or 'apps,' on the social-networking site Facebook Inc. have been transmitting identifying information — in effect, providing access to people's names and, in some cases, their friends' names — to dozens of advertising and Internet tracking companies,' according to The Wall Street Journal, which wrote about Facebook Sunday in the latest installment of its recent 'What They Know' series about advertising and the Internet."
It makes me wonder why Facebook had a privacy "policy" for app writers when they could have easily scrubbed data before letting Zinga et al get their grubby mitts on them. A "Do not walk on grass" sign carries less weight than a groundskeeper, security guard, or a fence.
It makes me wonder why Facebook had a privacy "policy" for app writers when they could have easily scrubbed data before letting Zinga et al get their grubby mitts on them. A "Do not walk on grass" sign carries less weight than a groundskeeper, security guard, or a fence.
Because that wouldn't have made Mark Zuckerberg stinking rich.
Firefox, greasemonkey add-on, and FBPurity. The "FB" stands for "Fluff Busting" not "facebook" for legal reasons...
It blocks app messages, groups joined, events attended, everything. You can whitelist some things that you might want to see and create your own list of blocked words if you want. It's the only thing that makes facebook vaguely usable in my book...
http://www.fbpurity.com/
Help! Help! I'm being repressed!
It's not a "privacy leak" if you type the $#!% in yourself!
MSIE: The world's most standards-complaint web browser.
That the apps with problems are the top ones.
How do they become top apps?
They work, are designed well, and are appealing to their audience both graphically and functionally.
How do apps that best meet these criteria get built? By hiring top-notch programmers, web designers, and marketers.
What do you need to hire top-notch programmers, designers, and marketers? Lots of financial backing?
How do you get lots of financial backing and excellent investors? By selling a very good business plan.
How do you get lots of money to fund development? Advertising and information brokering.
What do advertisers pay a lot for? Extremely well-targetted ads that take into account specific characteristics of the audience.
What do information brokers pay a lot for? Private information about your users.