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Several Popular Apps Share Data With Facebook Without User Consent (ft.com)

Posted by msmash on from the privacy-woes dept.

Some of the most popular apps for Android smartphones, including Skyscanner, TripAdvisor and MyFitnessPal, are transmitting data to Facebook without the consent of users in a potential breach of EU regulations. From a report: In a study of 34 popular Android apps, the campaign group Privacy International found that at least 20 of them send certain data to Facebook the second that they are opened on a phone, before users can be asked for permission. Information sent instantly included the app's name, the user's unique ID with Google, and the number of times the app was opened and closed since being downloaded. Some, such as travel site Kayak, later sent detailed information about people's flight searches to Facebook, including travel dates, whether the user had children and which flights and destinations they had searched for. European law on data-sharing changed in May with the introduction of General Data Protection Regulation and mobile apps are required to have the explicit consent of users before collecting their personal information.

146 comments

  1. I doubt anyone really cares by mschaffer · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Once people get over their knee-jerk sense of outrage (if there is any), I doubt anyone will even uninstall these apps from their phones.

    1. Re: I doubt anyone really cares by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Plus they show me stupid ads for dumb movies like 101 Dalmatians and Jurassic park

    2. Re:I doubt anyone really cares by mrwireless · · Score: 4, Interesting

      Give it time. Over the years people will start to understand how the data driven business model really works. That profiling is not just about personalised ads, but equally about handling you as a risk, which often means denying you opportunities such as jobs or cheap insurance. The real businessmodel of these companies is the continuous background check.

      In a few years the 'data is the new oil' narative will backfire on Silicon Valley, as the 'data as a pollutant' metaphor will become all to apt. This comparison will then lead us to ask: what is the data version of global warming?

      It's Social Cooling.

    3. Re: I doubt anyone really cares by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Easy to make a pariah out of them. And so many other options out there

    4. Re:I doubt anyone really cares by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I know I'm always just wishing that Facebook would give it to me hard up the pooper, so I think you're probably right. Convenience and material wealth are life's only real rewards.

    5. Re: I doubt anyone really cares by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Every time they open their mouth they let out some nasty fact out. Itâ(TM)s like there are all these awful things packed in there so tight they canâ(TM)t make a move without something leaking

    6. Re: I doubt anyone really cares by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Offsprings.
      It's no coincidence that Facebook is sometimes called fuckbook.

    7. Re:I doubt anyone really cares by ShanghaiBill · · Score: 2

      means denying you opportunities such as jobs or cheap insurance.

      You need to look at the other side of the coin. For everyone denied an opportunity, someone else gets one. So if you have good credit, no medical problems, etc., then you should benefit from having your data widely shared.

    8. Re: I doubt anyone really cares by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      Until the Bastille is stormed, absolutely.

    9. Re:I doubt anyone really cares by Tailhook · · Score: 2

      I can't figure out why people install all this junk in the first place.

      --
      Maw! Fire up the karma burner!
    10. Re:I doubt anyone really cares by found404 · · Score: 1

      It's not that they don't care. It's that they don't know except in general terms. I'm fairly out of touch... with Main Stream News. I live in my own bubble (fav sites, fave news, on demand streams).

      Over the last couple of days (as I do on occasion), I venture into the ad-crazed world of TV media. Except for the usual sports, local highlights, brain-warping political onslaught... nothing on Facebook. Zilch! Not on Free TV, not on Free Radio. It's like I stepped back 20 years.

      This news might be big on some tech sites and certain social networks but... Big Media won't sell it unless there's a political angle. Afterall, their online dollars come from ad-tracking surveillance.

    11. Re: I doubt anyone really cares by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I doubt that.

      Just encountered a techie elsewhere that was laughing at the Head Scroogler being asked by Congress if they're tracking said politico's iPhone.

      Granted, derision over our politicians lack of ability to even set the clock on their microwave is warranted, but this?

      We're talking someone in the industry who should know better, laughing his head off like a chucklefuck because he's a blissfully ignorant motherfucker unaware of Google Analytics, the massive suite of Google services infesting the web like a cancer, browser fingerprinting, unique device identifiers, and the fact that Google buys and trades data outside their own tendrils.

      Highly paid valley "rockstars" don't fucking get it. The hoi polloi never will.

    12. Re:I doubt anyone really cares by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      On the other hand, users don't really care. If an app shares data with Facebook, that is well within the law, as the user agreed to it in the EULA.

      The GDPR is one thing, but by using the app, the user has already agreed to the data sharing, so this isn't going anywhere.

      A TOS/EULA is a contract, pure and simple. Just like one that is notarized and signed when renting an apartment.

    13. Re:I doubt anyone really cares by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Operation Poison Facebook.

      Take as many Facebook surveys as you can but enter incorrect info, e.g., a quiz about cars asks you for the model of the first car you learned to drive. Though the majority of users will not do this, you might as well poison your own marketing profile to the fullest.

    14. Re: I doubt anyone really cares by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      well i guess there in the US you can put just about anything in a contract. Here in the normal world its illegal to put stuff in any contract thats against any laws. Nor can you have the end user signing away their legal rights with a tos etc.

    15. Re:I doubt anyone really cares by ctilsie242 · · Score: 4, Interesting

      I have already this happen. A few years ago when I was working for a different employer, I had a friend of mine take a picture of me in a store's humidor. The pictures went on Facebook. Less than a week later, I got a demand from my health insurance company to take a physical with bloodwork or pay smoker's rates.

      Already, location data from apps has been uses to spy on Tesla and other firms, tracking where employees are in the building. With tensions getting greater between nations, a person's location can potentially make or break a military initiative.

    16. Re:I doubt anyone really cares by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      How can you be sure the stuff stored on you is accurate? It is trivial to fuck someone over with their credit score if you don't like them by creating a dummy offshore organization, and then sending reports to Equfax, Experion, and Transunion about debts not paid, then accounts closed due to nonpayment to ChexSystems. It is then on the victim to prove that the debt is fraud, and they likely wouldn't even be aware of it until their credit app gets denied, their insurance jacks their rates up, or they don't get their job.

    17. Re:I doubt anyone really cares by ShanghaiBill · · Score: 1

      How can you be sure the stuff stored on you is accurate?

      It is still a wash. For everyone hurt, someone else is helped.

      It is trivial to fuck someone over with their credit score if you don't like them by creating a dummy offshore organization, and then sending reports to Equfax, Experion, and Transunion about debts not paid

      This has absolutely nothing to do with "apps" sharing data. Credit agencies have been around for decades. False information there can be a problem, but that has nothing to do with TFA.

      Also, the credit agencies don't accept information from "dummy offshore organizations", and it is not at all "trivial" to submit information to be included in someone's report.

    18. Re: I doubt anyone really cares by jpaine619 · · Score: 1

      No. The US is similar in that a contract must have some measure of being "equitable" and you cannot agree to illegal acts.. etc. I dunno how the Europeans handle contracts, but I'd image that whatever the differences we aren't that far off.

    19. Re:I doubt anyone really cares by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I actually uninstalled MyFitnessPal a couple months ago because it was strangely sluggish (it never used to be). Maybe the trackers were overloaded.

    20. Re: I doubt anyone really cares by ctilsie242 · · Score: 3, Insightful

      I would say SV people do "get" it. A lot of them know that their products are nightmares when it comes to security. But they don't care. To them, security is a cost center. Even more, if some scenario of every device they have has some major vulnerability, the top brass just short their stock, make the announcement, and all go to the local shipwright for new yachts from the money made from the fallout of the announcement.

      There is absolutely zero incentive for privacy and security in most industry sectors. Especially IoT where an IoT company benefits from devices that can't be upgraded, as customers will happily buy a new 1.0.1 device because their 1.0 device can get them pwned, and it can't be fixed or firmware updates.

    21. Re:I doubt anyone really cares by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Seriously. Do you get moderate exercise, stay in a healthy weight range, and eat a healthy diet? Than you're healthier than about 97% of the american public. Most people are horrifically unhealthy.

    22. Re:I doubt anyone really cares by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I don't understand that. Usually the insurance company will just deny you coverage if you get an illness related to something you didn't report (like smoking). That way they get your money AND don't have to pay for anything.

      So for them it might actually be better if you were a smoker and didn't report it. For you, not so much.

    23. Re:I doubt anyone really cares by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Wrong! I just deleted the app MyFitnessPal.

    24. Re: I doubt anyone really cares by Zero__Kelvin · · Score: 1

      That's not how it works. The "victim" contests the negative report and it is then up to the credit reporter to prove their negative report is legit. In fact many people with legitimate credit issues get their records cleared this way since the reporting party often doesn't respond in time.

      --
      Guns don't kill people; Physics kills people! - John Lithgow as Dick Solomon on Third Rock From The Sun
    25. Re: I doubt anyone really cares by Zero__Kelvin · · Score: 1

      I'm not sure what bizarre world you live in, but everywhere I have lived the number of appropriate weight people far outweighs the clearly out of shape ones. I think you have been reading too many magazine articles and failing to observe the people around you.

      --
      Guns don't kill people; Physics kills people! - John Lithgow as Dick Solomon on Third Rock From The Sun
    26. Re: I doubt anyone really cares by Zero__Kelvin · · Score: 1

      Where did you get the idea that there is conservation of opportunity built into the system? Maybe you meant "while many will be denied an opportunity a few will gain one"?

      --
      Guns don't kill people; Physics kills people! - John Lithgow as Dick Solomon on Third Rock From The Sun
    27. Re: I doubt anyone really cares by ShanghaiBill · · Score: 2

      I'm not sure what bizarre world you live in, but everywhere I have lived the number of appropriate weight people far outweighs the clearly out of shape ones.

      I am guessing that you live in a urban area, and not in the rural south or Appalachia. I am also guessing that you don't shop at Walmart.

      More than 60% of Americans are overweight, and more than 30% are obese, with a BMI of 30 or higher.

      The fattest states are Mississippi and West Virginia.

      The skinniest are Hawaii and Colorado.

    28. Re: I doubt anyone really cares by Zero__Kelvin · · Score: 1

      So you are guessing that my data isn't falsely weighted to create the appearance that you are correct? I concede that is true.

      --
      Guns don't kill people; Physics kills people! - John Lithgow as Dick Solomon on Third Rock From The Sun
    29. Re:I doubt anyone really cares by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      can't uninstall them if you don't have them in the first place. feature phones, FTW. leave the 'computing' and internet use on the computer (and with sensible precautions). NOBODY.. that's right nobody 'needs' the internet and facebook and shit like that in their god damn pockets. N O B O D Y.

      we got on just fine before june 29, 2007 (launch of iphone) and before march of 2004 (opening of the facebook beyond harvard's walls).. we even got on just fine before 1997, which was the start of the faster-than-dialup (or isdn) 'broadband' era (comcast launched in a few select markets dec 96).. and things were just hunky-dorey before email, even.

    30. Re: I doubt anyone really cares by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      Oh, those poor companies.

      Do you really want to blame the consumer / the masses?

      When a company prays on weaknesses such as FOMO & loneliness, such as the dopamine hits of "views" and "likes", such as influencing the flow of information such as political ads while at the same time having large lobbying budgets... Do you really want to blame each individual consumer?

    31. Re:I doubt anyone really cares by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      They don't have to uninstall. Companies which violate the law will be fined. If they don't fix the problem, they will be fined again. Eventually they either fix it or run out of money.

    32. Re: I doubt anyone really cares by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      The thing is, with the GDPR you must give the user the option to use the service without data sharing if it is feasible to do so. And that must be the default setting. Also, the data must be stored within the EU and each third party the data is shared with must appear where you agree. If you add a new party, there must be new consent. You also need the name of the contact in EU responsible for the data (to easily sue him/her).

    33. Re:I doubt anyone really cares by plopez · · Score: 1

      You're assuming you won't be wrongly singled out. Basically you're standing on Darwin's door mat screaming "take me! Take me!"

      --
      putting the 'B' in LGBTQ+
    34. Re:I doubt anyone really cares by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The GDPR isn't quite so easy to workaround. Unless the data collection/sharing is essential for providing the service, the user must be given an opportunity to opt out. It cannot be made a requirement to use the service.

    35. Re:I doubt anyone really cares by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Once people get over their knee-jerk sense of outrage (if there is any), I doubt anyone will even uninstall these apps from their phones.

      I can't uninstall what I never bothered to install in the first place because I read the EULA that told me what they would share and I disagreed with it.

      Only dumbsh!t$ install software without reading the licensing that comes with it. Oh wait, that applies to most of the under 40 crowd out there.

    36. Re: I doubt anyone really cares by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      What does petitioning God have to do with your comment?

    37. Re:I doubt anyone really cares by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      If this happened to me, I would like the head of the company who did this to be charged with spying and put in jail for 15-20 years.

      Or if this is considered fine, it should also be fine for me to rip up all of the company's mail and sift through and copy it for later reading, or just break into someone's house and photograph anything I like (hey, I'm not stealing anything, don't be mad).

    38. Re:I doubt anyone really cares by chrish · · Score: 1

      I'm planning a trip, and I was going to install Kayak to see how well that works... well, now I'm not going to use Kayak as a result of this.

      *shrug* They won't notice because I'll never be part of their analytics (unless Google ends up shipping them a list of what apps I have installed on my phone, then they'll be able to see which airline(s) I use).

      --
      - chrish
  2. Who Cares by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    If you're using Android or anything Google, you clearly don't care about privacy anyway, loosers.

    1. Re:Who Cares by Mr.+Dollar+Ton · · Score: 3, Informative

      Nobody cares. On a rooted Android phone with a privacy guard, firewall and a good blocklist, no app can get or send data anyway.

    2. Re:Who Cares by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      If you're using Android or anything Google, you clearly don't care about privacy anyway, loosers.

      Get your shit straight. Android is just tweaked Linux and fully open source.

      Google Play Services (GPS) is malware.

      Google's app store is a mass of predatory software unfit for use by anyone.

      Predictable outcome of piss poor governance and sleazy as fuck business models Google and friends have championed to make money.

    3. Re:Who Cares by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Nobody cares. On a rooted Android phone with a privacy guard, firewall and a good blocklist, no app can get or send data anyway.

      Careful I found experimentally that simply preventing network access or firewalling application user spaces does not prevent DNS queries. An app could leverage DNS as a covert channel to bypass your firewall.

    4. Re:Who Cares by sacrilicious · · Score: 1

      On a rooted Android phone with a privacy guard, firewall and a good blocklist, no app can get or send data anyway.

      Note that as long as your phone is talking to cell towers, your location is being catalogued, and those catalogues are being shared/sold.

      --
      - First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then ???, then profit.
    5. Re:Who Cares by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Great news for the 0.000001% of people who bother with all that shit.

    6. Re:Who Cares by Mr.+Dollar+Ton · · Score: 1

      This is true of any cellphone, and has nothing to do with Android or Google.

  3. wow by jjeffries · · Score: 1

    wow no way gasp i'm super surprised oh my stars garters amen

  4. The list... by Known+Nutter · · Score: 5, Informative

    Calorie Counter - MyFitnessPal
    Duolingo: Learn Languages Free
    Family Locator - GPS Tracker
    Indeed Job Search
    Instant Heart Rate: HR Monitor & Pulse Checker
    KAYAK Flights, Hotels & Cars
    King James Bible (KJV) Free
    Muslim Pro - Prayer Times, Azan, Quran & Qibla
    My Talking Tom / My Talking Hank etc
    Period Tracker Clue: Period & Ovulation Calculator
    Qibla Connect® Find Direction- Prayer, Azan, Quran
    Shazam
    Skyscanner - Cheap Flights, Hotels and Car Rental (Ad Personalisation = Off)
    Skyscanner - Cheap Flights, Hotels and Car Rental (Ad Personalisation = On)
    Spotify Music
    Super-Bright LED Flashlight
    The Weather Channel: Local Forecast & Weather Maps
    TripAdvisor Hotels Flights Restaurants Attractions
    VK (vkontakte)
    Yelp
    Salatuk (Prayer time)

    Bible - Audio, Daily Verse, Study & Offline, Free
    BMI Calculator & Weight Loss Tracker
    Candy Crush Saga
    Clean Master - Antivirus, Cleaner & Booster
    Dropbox
    HP ePrint (No Longer in Google Play Store)
    Opera Browser
    Period Tracker, My Calendar
    Phone Tracker By Number
    Security Master - Antivirus, VPN, AppLock, Booster
    Skater Boy
    Speedtest by Ookla
    WeChat

    --
    Beware of the Leopard.
    1. Re:The list... by Freshly+Exhumed · · Score: 2

      Thanks for the list in simple, easy to read text without the crud. The FT article seems to be paywalled.

      --
      I deny that I have not avoided attaining the opposite of that which I do not want.
    2. Re:The list... by TheGratefulNet · · Score: 2

      security master - LOL!

      we were asked to install wechat at work (for talking to our chinese co-workers; its a chinese owned company) and when I saw the list of privs it wanted, I refused. I was one of the few who did not install this crap on my phone. now, looks like I made the right call.

      also, a flashlight app?? this shit should be illegal, punishable by real jail time. this crap has got to stop!

      --

      --
      "It is now safe to switch off your computer."
    3. Re:The list... by Mr.+Dollar+Ton · · Score: 3, Interesting

      Funny how I don't seem have any of these installed, or in my library. Maybe minimal app selection hygiene is important if one cares about privacy?

    4. Re:The list... by jenningsthecat · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Funny how I don't seem have any of these installed, or in my library. Maybe minimal app selection hygiene is important if one cares about privacy?

      Agreed. I'm very careful about what apps I install, plus, (as you mentioned above) My phone is rooted, and I have AFWall installed. I also turn off both data and WiFi unless I'm explicitly using them.

      Having said that, we shouldn't have to jump through hoops like this to guard our privacy. Privacy should be a basic right, and it should be the default state of all our devices, OS's, and applications / programs. Privacy should NOT be the exclusive province of a) the rich and b) vigilant, technically informed people like us. As at least one other poster has said, corporate privacy violations ought to be against the law, and penalties ought to be severe - TOS be damned. That privacy invasion is not just the norm, but a common business model, is proof of how far civilization has declined. What we now call democracy is simply a bread-and-circuses cover story for the corporatocracy that in fact prevails everywhere.

      --
      'The Economy' is a giant Ponzi scheme whose most pitiable suckers are the youngest among us and the yet-unborn.
    5. Re:The list... by drinkypoo · · Score: 2

      Funny how I don't seem have any of these installed, or in my library. Maybe minimal app selection hygiene is important if one cares about privacy?

      I had HP ePrint installed previously, so I could print to my HP printer. Speedtest is a highly common app. Candy Crush is a respected game series. Duolingo is also highly respected. Most of the rest is just fly by night crap, but all of those are pretty major.

      --
      "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
    6. Re:The list... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      speedtest? really? fuck you ookla.

    7. Re:The list... by JaredOfEuropa · · Score: 3, Interesting

      Nice. I use Spotify, Dropbox, Speedtest (useful to test WiFi in rental properties), Shazam... but on iOS. Do those apps running on iPhones also send data to FB?

      --
      If construction was anything like programming, an incorrectly fitted lock would bring down the entire building...
    8. Re:The list... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Thank you: uninstalled Yelp immediately after reading this.

    9. Re:The list... by WaffleMonster · · Score: 1

      speedtest? really? fuck you ookla.

      Speedtest has been malware for a number of years now.

    10. Re:The list... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Well, usernames check out.

    11. Re:The list... by WaffleMonster · · Score: 1

      Candy Crush is a respected game series.

      Candy Crush is a product of Zynga.

    12. Re:The list... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      From the GDPR:

      Organizations in breach of GDPR can be fined up to 4% of annual global turnover or €20 Million (whichever is greater).

      Here's a great opportunity to set a precedent. Isn't Shazam owned by Apple, the company which prides itself on not selling user data, with a global turnover over 250B?

    13. Re:The list... by Mr.+Dollar+Ton · · Score: 1

      Legislation is the outcome of political pressure.

      In the absence of a public political mechanism to consider the risks in advance, enough people have to be on the receiving end of the problem so that their costs are high enough for them to be willing to do work to create such pressure. Usually that happens long after an industry is established, and has moved into profitable and arrogant mode of operations, where it can comfortably allocate resources for lobbying against public effort.

      So, you may need to wait a bit before legislation will do for you half of what reasonable personal hygiene habits can.

    14. Re: The list... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Privacy International actually lists Wechat among apps that do not share data with Facebook

    15. Re:The list... by gravewax · · Score: 1

      Thanks for the list. Dropbox and Speedtest both removed from my phone and life for that matter, though to be fair dropbox has been dead for ages just never gotten around to uninstalling.

    16. Re:The list... by jpaine619 · · Score: 1

      also, a flashlight app?? this shit should be illegal, punishable by real jail time. this crap has got to stop!

      That's why we have 80,000 pages of laws... How about "education"? Making shit illegal does not make it go away... (Drugs / Pyramid Schemes / Con Games).. Education is the most effective way to get rid of scams.

    17. Re:The list... by PixetaledPikachu · · Score: 3, Informative

      Calorie Counter - MyFitnessPal Duolingo: Learn Languages Free Family Locator - GPS Tracker Indeed Job Search Instant Heart Rate: HR Monitor & Pulse Checker KAYAK Flights, Hotels & Cars King James Bible (KJV) Free Muslim Pro - Prayer Times, Azan, Quran & Qibla My Talking Tom / My Talking Hank etc Period Tracker Clue: Period & Ovulation Calculator Qibla Connect® Find Direction- Prayer, Azan, Quran Shazam Skyscanner - Cheap Flights, Hotels and Car Rental (Ad Personalisation = Off) Skyscanner - Cheap Flights, Hotels and Car Rental (Ad Personalisation = On) Spotify Music Super-Bright LED Flashlight The Weather Channel: Local Forecast & Weather Maps TripAdvisor Hotels Flights Restaurants Attractions VK (vkontakte) Yelp Salatuk (Prayer time)

      Bible - Audio, Daily Verse, Study & Offline, Free BMI Calculator & Weight Loss Tracker Candy Crush Saga Clean Master - Antivirus, Cleaner & Booster Dropbox HP ePrint (No Longer in Google Play Store) Opera Browser Period Tracker, My Calendar Phone Tracker By Number Security Master - Antivirus, VPN, AppLock, Booster Skater Boy Speedtest by Ookla WeChat

      According to the article, the list of offending apps stopped at Salatuk. The rest, starting from Bible up to wechat do not or no longer share infos to facebook

    18. Re: The list... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      No. It is owned and developed by King (which is now a subsidiary to Activision-Blizzard).

    19. Re:The list... by Spamalope · · Score: 2

      Your cut and paste list include the apps that DO NOT transmit data on startup (everything after the space break). That aside, why is approriate for a print driver to send data to FB ever?!?!? (the HP eprint app) Orany of the rest of these, really...

      "We also tested the following apps but they don’t transmit data to graph.facebook.com the moment the app is opened, in the most recent iteration of our analysis (December 2018)"

    20. Re:The list... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      you can use speed test from the browser. only a idiot would install an app to test speed. i now understand why my wife is always complaining about the weather channel app being laggy and slow, it doing all kind of BS in the background. on top of that their weather predictions are never right. the weather channel couldn't predict the weather in aruba.

    21. Re:The list... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Thank you!

      I'd mod you up, but you're already at +5.

  5. People should be installing by bobstreo · · Score: 1

    firewalls on their android devices to block outgoing connections (especially to bookface)

    NetGuard, AFWall+ (requires root)...

    1. Re:People should be installing by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      An application firewall should be a basic operating system functionality. Same for application compartmentalization with detailed options to block,allow or fake application access to other applications data access.

      But that goes directly against the business model of the creators of the OS'es, so that will never happen. Well, maybe Apple, but they will probably think it will degrade the user experience to much.

    2. Re:People should be installing by Mr.+Dollar+Ton · · Score: 1

      You do realize most of these apps are using basic OS functionality - the Linux ip filtering and the VPN stack - to manage connections, right, nerd?

  6. Fine The Fine American Applications by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Because they are so fine (they are American after all) they need to be fined so these fine software mobile applications can help EU pay its way in N.A.T.O. which the Americans (very fine people) require EU pay. No more free riding. Pay. So fine the fine (American-fine) applications so to make EU pay for the fine, very fine, protection it recieves from the fine Americans.

  7. Better headline by ChoGGi · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Seems a better headline would be more along the lines of: Free apps make their money one way or the other.

  8. They don't care because it's in a EULA by MikeRT · · Score: 4, Insightful

    I think one of the most effective privacy regs we could have would be a law that requires a plain English explanation of what data is sold or transferred to third parties, including wholly-owned subsidiaries that are operating as a separate company (ex WhatsApp and Facebook).

    No legalese, something that a person with a GED or high school degree should be able to read like this:

    "Location Data

    While your phone's location services are turned on, we will collect the GPS data related to your movements. We will use that to target you with more appropriate ads, services and products. We sell this data to Facebook, Twitter and Amazon. Other purchasers may be added later to this list."

    If it were spelled out in those terms, a lot more people would notice and care.

    1. Re: They don't care because it's in a EULA by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Gdpr requires an easily understandable description of all the data being processed, it's purpose, transfer, storage duration etc.

    2. Re: They don't care because it's in a EULA by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      There is no GDPR anywhere but the physical continent of Europe. That is baloney to even mention it

    3. Re:They don't care because it's in a EULA by alvinrod · · Score: 4, Insightful

      More people might notice and perhaps understand, but I don't know if they'd care. They'll look at it and conclude that they trust those companies enough that they're not concerned. What they won't understand is that those companies are buying all kinds of other data and aggregating it (and then perhaps selling that aggregated data in turn) such that they have far more information about a person than that person might consider possible.

    4. Re:They don't care because it's in a EULA by grep+-v+'.*'+* · · Score: 1

      If it were spelled out in those terms, a lot more people would notice and care.

      Sure.

      This app, Facebook, collects absolute NO DATA WHATSOEVER on you, your phone, your car, or your bank account.

      Minor note in <tiny print>: This legally binding notice might be ever-so-slightly changed or updated when you're not actively looking at this legal text. See: Reversible Schrodinger's cat. Be Seeing You!

      --
      If the universe is someone's simulation -- does that mean the stars are just stuck pixels?
    5. Re: They don't care because it's in a EULA by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Umm no

    6. Re: They don't care because it's in a EULA by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      EU will cash in 4% world-wide turn-over for violations. That is, assuming those violations happen in the EU, too, which is very likely the case.

    7. Re:They don't care because it's in a EULA by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I think one of the most effective privacy regs we could have would be a law that requires a plain English explanation of what data is sold or transferred to third parties, ...

      A laudable goal. Requirement for EULAs: If it can't be spelled out in clear, simple <insert preferred language> that a 10th grader could easily understand, in, say, five paragraphs or less, definitely none of it IN ALL CAPS, then it's null and void. If the end user can't negotiate the terms, then it's null and void.

      (If we aren't given an option to defend ourselves against weaponized EULA terms, of course those imposing them will make them onerous. If the corps don't want to be forced to negotiate every single license, simplify the terms; make them reasonable and customer-friendly and we won't need to fight over them. Until that happens, quit acting surprised when people violate them with impunity.)

    8. Re: They don't care because it's in a EULA by Zero__Kelvin · · Score: 1

      The end user negotiates terms by agreeing or disagreeing to use the service. The idea that each user of Facebook, Twitter, Tinder and all the rest should be able to have a customized TOS is an idea one would only have if they had no idea what the phrase "it doesn't scale" means.

      --
      Guns don't kill people; Physics kills people! - John Lithgow as Dick Solomon on Third Rock From The Sun
    9. Re: They don't care because it's in a EULA by gravewax · · Score: 3, Informative

      GDPR is defined by location AND citizenship, it is most definitely NOT confined to the physical continent of Europe. You can do transactions completely external to Europe that can send your company into a GDPR legal mess.

    10. Re: They don't care because it's in a EULA by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The violation doesn't have to happen in the EU, just has to happen with EU data or with data of an EU citizen.

    11. Re: They don't care because it's in a EULA by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      GDPR has a jurisdiction, and it is the EU and it's residents. If you're an EU citizen with residence in the US, GDPR doesn't apply to you.

  9. The more we learn about Facebook... by QuietLagoon · · Score: 4, Insightful

    ... the worse Facebook looks.

    1. Re:The more we learn about Facebook... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Facebook has looked the same from day 1. But it was fashionable, so you didn't care. Now it is fashionable to bash it, so you suddenly became woke.

      Kinda like you only noticed your boyfriend's dick cheese after he cheated on you.

    2. Re:The more we learn about Facebook... by QuietLagoon · · Score: 2

      ... so you suddenly became woke. ...

      Not really. I've critiqued facebook for years. It is just recently that the rest of the world seems to have realized what facebook is about.

    3. Re:The more we learn about Facebook... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Yea, the only reason Facebook is suddenly being targeted is because of journalists and their Trump-derangement.

      You think Youtube, Twitter, etc are any better? They all make their money with user data and ads. It's just that journalists don't want to look too closely because those support their political views.

  10. I can understand... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Interesting

    the average person not understanding how this stuff works and the dangers therein, but anyone in IT should have declared Facebook, et al. pariahs long ago. I remember years ago when working as an IT security auditor thinking that I would never join "social media". Many people saw this coming, but people simply don't want to hear about it because it's "free". Everyone in IT understands it's not free. You (metaphorically) are paying for it. In more ways than one.

    I value what little privacy is left over, and as an anecdote, I recently left Fastmail over the Access and Assistance bill. I was a paying customer, but no longer.

    The Security Derangement Complex: Technology Companies And Australia’s Anti-Encryption Law

    In the end, I think people will not be able to trust companies. 99% of people will never encrypt their missives or online content before storing them. That's crazy, despite not having anything to hide. That old chestnut people love to trot out saying, "If you have nothing to hide, you have nothing to fear.", is garbage. We all have things to hide or would prefer to remain under wraps.

    I drive a grey car with no bumper stickers. I wear plain shirts. I don't advertise. I pay cash for booze and tobacco, buy certain things face to face, and generally don't put myself out there for the data miners. My browsing is all done as privately as I can make it. More and more companies are selling, unbeknownst to end users, their data to insurance companies, banks, credit companies, and various governments. We are entering an age where everything is going to be transparent. Those who use encryption that is not "backdoored" will stand out brightly. The cold war between clever end users and the powers that be is coming. VPN/VPS traffic is routinely being deep packet inspected (already a thing) in many places. They are not the panacea people think they are. You cannot trust what you do not control. The Australian AA Bill has really nailed this down for me, and as my only paid account save my ISP, I'm thinking about how to address this in a way that works for me going forward with the friends and family I do communicate with on a regular basis. I'm not paranoid, I just see the patterns being matched around the world with control closing in.

  11. This is probably only scratching the surface by Solandri · · Score: 1

    *IF* you're going to flaunt the law and send info your app collects to Facebook without the phone owner's consent, doing it from the phone is stupid. It allows the phone owner to check on the data your app is transmitting, and catch it sending info to Facebook as TFA did.

    The smart way to do it would be to have your app send the info to you, then you send it to Facebook directly. That way there's no way for the user to detect that you're sharing data with Facebook. I wouldn't at all be surprised if this is what most apps do.

    1. Re:This is probably only scratching the surface by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The likely explanation that Facebook is sending this data to itself because Facebook provides software components that app authors can use to integrate Facebook into their apps. It's just that Facebook doesn't wait until the user actually uses any Facebook functionality or agrees to any data sharing. It starts hoovering up data right away. Bold move, considering the fines that can be levied to enforce the GDPR (up to €20 million, or 4% of the worldwide annual revenue of the prior financial year, whichever is higher).

    2. Re:This is probably only scratching the surface by MobyDisk · · Score: 1

      What law are you referring to?

    3. Re:This is probably only scratching the surface by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      This one... CVC2591C: A pickle cannot be sold unless it bounces. According to a 1948 article, this law became a necessity after two scheming pickle packers tried to sell pickles “unfit for human consumption” on the sly. Connecticut’s Food and Drug Commissioner at the time proclaimed that a real pickle “should bounce” when dropped from the height of one foot, leading to a new state regulation.

  12. Android sucks, Facebook sucks by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Why do plebs use that trash? Oh yeah, because they are too cheap to buy a phone that's not trash.

    1. Re:Android sucks, Facebook sucks by Mr.+Dollar+Ton · · Score: 1

      The price of the phone doesn't matter at all. You can have a great Android device with super-tight privacy almost for free if you learn how to do it. It doesn't even take a lot of work, just a bit of reading and following a few basic steps.

      Sadly, this seems too much work for the average slashdot "nerd" of year 2018.

    2. Re: Android sucks, Facebook sucks by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The average nerd doesnâ(TM)t want THAT type of privacy

    3. Re:Android sucks, Facebook sucks by bagofbeans · · Score: 1

      The average person is not particularly technically literate, and is happy to presume that there isn't a problem for them.

      Mostly, they are right, in the same way that driving without signalling or wearing a seatbelt or putting the headlights on in the rain is mostly ok.

    4. Re:Android sucks, Facebook sucks by Mr.+Dollar+Ton · · Score: 1

      My comment is a response to the baseless OP argument that paying more money is the same thing as caring for your privacy.

      However, there is no need for "technical literacy", just for an average ability to read and follow instructions. The hard technical work has been done and is wrapped in convenient apps that are either free, or cost less than 4-5 bucks.

  13. Want to bet?! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    The thing I can't stand about most Android developers is their laziness and stupidity. So many apps want complete access to my phone. Why the fuck do so many apps want access to my contacts?
    Immediate cancel on the install.
    Same goes for access to photos, camera, calendar and location. I just assume the developer wants to do some nefarious things with my phone.
    Do they have to have that kind of access for certain functionality?
    Then the Android team needs to get their act together and make Android more secure.

    I just use my Android phone for plain calls and work schedule. My bank wants me to use their app and I just say, "NFW because Android is an insecure cheap piece of shit."
    If I could afford an iOS phone, I'd get it because it is much more secure.
    But Apple's ridiculous prices are another rant.

    1. Re:Want to bet?! by ctilsie242 · · Score: 1

      This has been the case for a long time. At least you can deny permissions on Android, or on a rooted Android device, use a utility like XPrivacyLua to allow nosy apps to go slurping all the data they want, as it is fed to it from /dev/urandom.

      Before this, it was commonplace for even a basic fleshlight app to require every permission under the sun, even ACCESS_SUPERUSER, and with Android's all or nothing permission approach, most people just allowed the app to install and start slurping data to its hearts content.

    2. Re: Want to bet?! by Zero__Kelvin · · Score: 1

      Yeah. I've seen all kinds of cases of bank apps being exploited. Oh wait ... I still have never seen any reports of this happening. I think you mean "even though Android is quite secure and stable and most banks have Android apps that are secure I hate Google so I'm going to pretend that bank accounts are being compromised left and right even though that assertion is ridiculous, since if that were the case banks would be pulling their apps left, right, up and down."

      --
      Guns don't kill people; Physics kills people! - John Lithgow as Dick Solomon on Third Rock From The Sun
  14. Worthless, paywalled source. by Gojira+Shipi-Taro · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Nothing good ever came from the Financial Times

    --
    "Oh my God. This is terrible. This is the end of my Presidency. I'm fucked."; ~ Donald J. Trump
    1. Re:Worthless, paywalled source. by bagofbeans · · Score: 0

      Since you clearly aren't prepared to pay, how do you know?

  15. What do you use instead of Shazam? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Shazam is a case that would be quite useful (and used to be in the past), if it wasn't for this shit.

    I don't see there being a free alternative anytime soon, given how the human livestock follows the Content Mafia's criminal delusions.

  16. FUCK MERKINS by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    if they have enough to waste 5+ billion on trumps Folly - whats an extra billion in fines ,t they can just consider it more corporate welfare.

    1. Re: FUCK MERKINS by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It is called doing the right thing? A key factor of the right thing is that it is always done freely in a spirit of giving

  17. Yeah, AFWall+ doesn't help. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    You can't e.g. tell Shazam to not use Facebook, but still use the very music identification service you're using it for.

    If only, because they can still share things server-side.

  18. Laws with no teeth by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Insightful

    There needs to be penalties.

    If CEO's get some jail time this stuff will stop right now!
    There is no motivation to self police.

    They are like "Ooopsie someone made a mistake" "thats against our policy"
    Meanwhile once the cat is out of the bag it's a done deal.
    And if someone doesn't call them out they will keep on with the butt sniffing.

    1. Re: Laws with no teeth by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Nobody told James Monroe to protect South America from recolonization. He did it because it was right

    2. Re:Laws with no teeth by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You're being hysterical. If you install free apps and enter in your personal information, they can do anything they want with it. Don't like it? Then don't install the apps. But don't throw a hysterical tantrum about a complete non-problem.

    3. Re:Laws with no teeth by jpaine619 · · Score: 1

      There needs to be penalties.

      If CEO's get some jail time this stuff will stop right now!

      What the fuck? Drug dealers get real jail time.. Have drugs gone away? You know how you get someone to not do drugs? You teach them. Show them what drugs can do.. The effects.. etc..

      You know how you get fucked up apps to go away? Teach people about them. Laws don't do anything for prevention. You could arrest every CEO on the planet tomorrow and 5 days later there would be a new batch of shit apps put out with the blessings of a whole new crop of shit CEOs. People are greedy and they'll lie/cheat/steal to get money. The only way you can stop this is to TEACH PEOPLE.

    4. Re: Laws with no teeth by jpaine619 · · Score: 1

      What the hell are you blathering about?

    5. Re: Laws with no teeth by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      This is absurd. If you learn what the real effects of drugs are, the only thing that changes is realizing how batshit insane drug laws are. Did we have an opioid crisis when laudanum was popular? What were the real health risks of small amounts of cocaine in Coca Cola? Do psychedelics actually cause people to go crazy (or is the rate of psychotic episodes among psychedelic users identical to that of the general population?) Why is marijuana schedule one? Is kratom a dangerous "legal heroin alternative?"
      Can meth be used responsibly?

      Does any adult have any right to dictate the mental state of another adult if nobody is harmed? If your answer is yes, fuck that fascist noise. If your answer is no, then why are we actively supporting the cartels and forcing drug use into the underground, allowing millions to be harmed, jailed, and killed by ignorance and lack of quality control through regulation?

      There's a sane and responsible way to deal with drugs. Blithely and blindly going with the status quo , accepting that the drug laws are good for anything except the proliferation of evil - that's what nazi Germany looked like. People just accepted the anti-Semitic popular views. They didn't accept responsibility for their own ethics and worldviews.

      Sure, it's mostly just low class poor people who get jailed, or hooked, or OD on fentanyl laced smack. There's nothing remotely comparable to holocaust level evil, and even though it's definitely affecting blacks disproportionately, the system isn't inherently racist. What it is represents a refusal of a majority of Americans to acknowledge that drugs are not going away. That they can and should be used responsibly, with education, without stigma. We have laws that penalize people for misbehavior. Tripping on acid, rolling on mdma, doing cocaine, smoking crack - none of these things are inherently wrong. Penalize people for criminal behavior that results in harm to people or property.

      You've got no business legislating the mental state of human beings, and addictions are their own punishments. Eradicate the drug laws. Regulate the markets. Educate the citizenry. No more black market for drugs means cartels get fucked. More educated people means less mayhem and death from abuse and misuse of drugs. Regulated markets means od's from contaminated product happen less often, and enforce accountability.

      Adults able to purchase lsd from the pharmacy means a more creative, efficient workforce.

      The only downside to eradicating drug laws is the loss of private prison profits.

    6. Re:Laws with no teeth by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Even if I don't run those apps, when I interact with people who run those apps and use things like facebook, in various ways my privacy is impacted. It's like a cloud of second-hand smoke.

  19. Future contributors to EU government coffers? by Bruce66423 · · Score: 1

    Hopefully they will be fined large amounts of money and Facebook as well for accepting the data...

  20. Harmless telemetry by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Its just harmless telemetry and metadata. Just like you get on windows 10 that everyone loves and the likely equivalent on OSx. Everywhere now we can run a good firewall, adblock, etc until they patch the OS with new leaks. Maybe you spill a little data here or there when you have to turn off that firewall to troubleshoot something. Maybe you don't hear about something for a week or two like Stylish sending every URL you visit to somebody. Its not that nobody cares... it's that nobody who matters cares, except to take your shit.

  21. Does your phone listen to your conversations? by MSG · · Score: 1

    I've seen numerous sites "debunk" the idea that your phone listens to your conversations and sends data to advertisers. The problem with every one of them is that they were analyzing the behavior of specific applications, typically the Facebook app. Because Facebook gets data from other application vendors, none of those tests were meaningful.

    Does your phone listen to your conversations? Probably. Could be your laptop/desktop computer, too.

    1. Re:Does your phone listen to your conversations? by WaffleMonster · · Score: 1

      Does your phone listen to your conversations? Probably.

      I certainly hope so given wiretapping is a criminal felony offense it would be amazing to pursuit charges and see slime rounded up and carted off to jail.

    2. Re:Does your phone listen to your conversations? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I agree that you have to look at the overall system, not just specific apps. But removing specific apps may improve the privacy of the overall system, against some attackers.

      A proper black-box test would look for any (slight) long-term positive correlation between average radio transmission power, after being exposed to varying acoustic noise levels. I don't trust any measure of data that the phone says it transmitted: I've seen cell phones, that were supposedly turned off, create short bursts of radio energy about every 11 seconds. Confirmed when pulling the battery made it stop. It *probably* wasn't reporting microphone data, but who can say for sure?

      ...Could be your laptop/desktop computer, too.

      No PC I use has a microphone attached.

  22. Good point. by Futurepower(R) · · Score: 1

    Mod parent up!

  23. Google by pigsycyberbully · · Score: 0

    Everything you do on that smartphone you are sending data to Google you cannot even download "apps" without giving them your name e-mail address and your phone number to go with it.

    1. Re:Google by WaffleMonster · · Score: 1

      Everything you do on that smartphone you are sending data to Google you cannot even download "apps" without giving them your name e-mail address and your phone number to go with it.

      There are many downloader sites freely available on the web. You don't need Google play services and associated malware to download software from the Google play store.

  24. We Need Better Fake Identity Tools by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    To counteract the power of information gathering we need better tools for creating, managing and using fake identities. Ideally these tools will allow us to silo various parts of our lives while frustrating data gathering efforts and attempts to link gathered information together, either between fake identities or worse back to the real one. Perhaps somebody is aware of existing tools that accomplish these objectives in which case please be generous with your advice.

  25. Are they based in EU? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    If not, then they shouldn't care. I know that the GDPR has a provision stating that personal data concerning EU citizen's fall under its jurisdiction, they can't really enforce it eg in a US based company. The US based company is obligated to follow the US laws only. It's another matter if the foreign company has a branch opened in an EU country.

  26. Gasp! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Not really.

  27. Zuck in cuffs by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    By the end of Q2. Sheryl Sandburg to write juicy tell all best seller. Fb stock to be first to trade at negative value. Musk and gates and bbc all to say stupid things.

    Satan will be revealed as real owner of fb. Yet my stupid family will still post baby pictures.

    Putin is amused. Xi and macron both got bigger fish. Trudeau Is a fool. Canadian dollar to go to .25 cents us. Oil will do whatever it wants and gold will do nothing.

    As for trump, hah, i predict lots of screaming by pretty much everyone.

  28. My imitation of "app-man" by knorthern+knight · · Score: 1

    Only crAPPy crAPPS can crAPP all over your privacy.

    --

    I'm not repeating myself
    I'm an X window user; I'm an ex-Windows user
    1. Re:My imitation of "app-man" by Known+Nutter · · Score: 2

      All APPS in your APP machine are crAAPy until you re-APP them into new APPS!

      APPS!!

      --
      Beware of the Leopard.
  29. Re: Indochimps doubt anyone really cares by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    See? That's why Cdreimer left /. after 20 years and posted 100+ videos in 2018. His trolls are still butthurt that he left them alone with APK.

    The thing to do for him: post more videos :)

  30. People hypocrites about privacy by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Well you do have a choice to either accept what Facebook and other free services do with your data. Or you can simply choose not to use their services. I personally decided that I cannot trust a Facebook to provide a fair amount of privacy options with my personal data. So I choose not to use their products or any other product that does not respect that privacy. This is the only way to make these entities start respecting users privacy is to stop using their products. Otherwise, don't complain about privacy and continue to use their products.

    1. Re:People hypocrites about privacy by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It's not enough to just avoid conscious use of facebook. Unless you take active steps to block facebook domains and cookies, many of your online actions and even 'real-life' purchases are still being logged to a facebook shadow profile. I don't care what Zuckerburg says, because I've seen the facebook tracking code hidden in countless websites I've visited. That's why there should be laws against what facebook has done.

      But it seems the lawmakers are being paid to look the other way.

  31. List of Free Alternatives to Dollar-Cloud by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    http://altwissenschaft.ddnss.de/AlternativListe.html

    (use yandex translate if required)

  32. Google Translate by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Actually yandex does not get this one translated, use the borg instead.

  33. My take by Artem+S.+Tashkinov · · Score: 2

    In this day and age I distrust by default any website which keeps my personal data like name, address, etc. and if I have to use such a website I open a private(incognito) tab in my web browser.

  34. I'm shocked! by plopez · · Score: 1

    Shocked I tell you. And saddened, yes definitely saddened. And shock. Mostly shocked, but also somewhat saddened. Yes that's it, shocked and saddened.

    --
    putting the 'B' in LGBTQ+
  35. Thunderbird also sends data to Facebook by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    After reading this article I have disabled Facebook servers in my router. I added a rule to the router's firewall disabling 157.240.21.* (reject). Then, Thunderbird stopped sending mails to my ISP server. It would resume sending ONLY after I erased that rule!!!!!

    The problem is the FACEBOOK API. When you call Initialize() it sends all kind of data to the Facebook servers! Many applications do that so that you can click in "login with Facebook" or in a "like" button. Every time you arrive to a web site with that ki,nd of crap, you are sending to Facebook all kind of data, even if you do not have any Facebook account (what is my case)

    This is NOT only in Android. Windows PCs and Macintosh are affected too.

    jacob navia

  36. People are still using facebook? by mark_reh · · Score: 1

    If they're still using it after all the s**t in the news lately, they definitely don't care about apps sharing their info. Or their IQ is too low to understand what the problems are. Or both.

  37. Simple answer by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Don't use the Facebook app. Access ot only using a web browser.

  38. Sayonara Duolingo by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Sayonara Duolingo. Your Japanese lessons hadn’t been updated in years anyway.

    Btw I’m on iOS.

  39. I had thought this common knowledge by Trax3001BBS · · Score: 1

    Facebook grabs all the data it can, it's really not dependent upon your contacts.
    I don't use Facebook and have it very well blocked with a HOSTS file on my personal Computer.

    I run "Noroot Firewall" on mobile devices. This Christmas a Parrot Drone was gifted, and "FreeFlight mini" software installed
    on a mobile phone; Two packets going to Google and one to Facebook were blocked.

  40. It's more common than I thought. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    installed netguard. within the first hour it logged:
    Glympse
    Pandora,
    Fing
    Accuweather
    Waze

    all trying to contact graph.facebook.com.