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Why Does Facebook Need To Read My Text Messages?

Posted by timothy on from the is-facebook-played-by-scarlett-johansson? dept.

DavidGilbert99 writes "Facebook updates its Android app quite a lot, but the latest version asks for some rather odd permissions. Rolling out in the UK this week, some users have noticed that it now wants permission to read your text messages. While most suspected Facebook wanted to access the data to try and serve you more targeted ads, Facebook says it is only so it can facilitate two-factor authentication...apparently."

12 of 293 comments (clear)

  1. Obvious answer by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Why Does Facebook Need To Read My Text Messages?

    Because shut up, that's why. If you ever want to hear from your "friends" again, you'll do exactly what we say without question. I'm certain you know that either you or your friends are too stupid or lazy to start and follow privately-hosted blogs, so sit down, shut up, and continue giving us data to mine. Idiot.

  2. Why does Facebook read your text messages? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Insightful

    Because you let them. Duh.

  3. Social Networking by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

    ALL - and I mean ALL - of these social networking sites and apps exist for one thing and on thing only - to extract your information.

    They have the data and know that they can manipulate your buying habits. You will not agree with this. I know you wont. But you are manipulable.

    We all are.

    It's NOT 'You will eat at Joes!'

    It's more like, 'Hmmm, I want to go out and eat, How about Joes?'

    That's all it takes.

    And with Big Data, they got us.

    1. Re:Social Networking by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

      I resent the notion that product trend manipulation works on everyone. It does not, and it doesn't have to. It only has to work on enough people to make it worthwhile.

  4. facebook wants to know more about you.... by QuietLagoon · · Score: 4, Insightful
    That is why facebook does anything it does, it wants to know all about you, your friends and relatives.

    .
    facebook even collects the posts you start typing but decide not to send.

  5. Re:Actually one of my beefs by mythosaz · · Score: 4, Insightful

    ...while I agree, the next step is that applications start crashing when you revoke their permissions, or the authors simply refuse to let them run.

    Anyone who writes a program that makes its money by spying on you (while presenting you a game of Hearts), will simply stop dealing the cards when it can't read your text messages. HOSTS blocking already kills ads on a lot of software, but it's an arms race.

    The revenue model is the issue. We want 99 "free" apps.

  6. Re:Actually one of my beefs by BitZtream · · Score: 1, Insightful

    iOS does fine. Its not hard. Android's permission system is simply not intended to protect users, its intended to ensure users will accept any permissions so that Google can get access to all data for mining.

    As I said, iOS pretty much solved this a few years ago, Android has been nothing but excuses ever since.

    This is not a flaw in Android, it is an intentional design decision made by Google in order to accomplish THEIR goals, you are not the customer, you are the product.

    --
    Persistent Volume manager for Kubernetes - https://github.com/dwimsey/openshift-pvmanager
  7. im sure the dialog is scripted. by nimbius · · Score: 4, Insightful

    user: Facebook, why do you want to read my text messages?
    Facebook:Fuck you, thats why.
    user: okay.jpg.


    All joking aside though, seriously, stop using facebook. You're the product, not the consumer, so none of your opinions or concerns sincerely matter.

    --
    Good people go to bed earlier.
  8. Blackberry by QBasicer · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Blackberry actually had this right. Apps requested permission when you installed them, you could either allow, deny, or ask it to prompt you first. It would be really awesome if Android had that feature too.

    --
    x86, oh yes, I'm pro.
  9. Re:Think of the children by jigawatt · · Score: 3, Insightful

    We can't?

    Facebook didn't get any kind of information from me. Take a wild guess how I accomplished this feat.

    Hint: They can't exist without us. We can exist just fine without them.

    So you've never texted anybody who uses facebook?

    You can close your mouth now.

  10. Re:Think of the children by mlk · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Because I don't want a phone. I want a PDA.

    I also want to phone people every once in a blue moon and have always-on access to various IM clients. I don't want to carry two devices.

    Now you don't want this and it is great that you can get a device that meets your needs. I can get a device that meets my needs but alas now they all come with shit installed.

    --
    Wow, I should not post when knackered.
  11. ever tried to prove that you are not a camel? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

    If one cannot remove a silly true photo of oneself from the tubes, then the same is true for the fakes. How many employers ever tried to verify the photos, they have seen on the tubes? The point is - somebody may have posted a photo with you having fun with a camel, a photo which was a fake. Your prospective employers may not even bother to verify. The fun part is - they may not even bother to tell you whether they rejected you because they got excited out of this photo , because they did not or just because they did not like the camel's smile. The memory of the tubes is another subject than the ones discussed on this thread and one that that you failed to analyse properly. But hey that is ok - now you can go and have fun with the camel anyway - this does not make any difference anymore...