Facebook change exposes users’ contact details

[TriWooOx]

Quote:Late on Friday evening, Facebook made the tweak to its developer terms, via its blog, saying: “We are now making a user’s address and mobile phone number accessible [to developers]," prompting security experts to warn people to remove their personal contact details from the site immediately.

Moving forward, whenever a Facebook user accepts the terms and conditions of downloading an app, such as a game or a video developed for the platform by a third party company, they will also be allowing that company access to their mobile telephone number and address, if they have previously loaded that information into their profile.

"This change isn't as drastic as it might first appear, because users will need to give permission for third-party Facebook applications to access this data," explained Graham Cluley, senior technology consultant at IT security and control firm Sophos. "But it still sounds like a recipe for disaster, given the prevalence of rogue scam applications already on Facebook - all of which benefit from apparently being blessed by the Facebook name and brand."

According to Sophos, Facebook is already plagued by rogue applications which solely exist to post spam links to users' walls, point users to survey scams that earn them commission - and sometimes even trick users into handing over their mobile numbers to sign them up for a premium rate service.

Now, the IT security company has said, rogue app developers will find it easier than ever before to gather even more personal information from users and has advised Facebook members to remove all of their personal contact information from the site immediately.

"Facebook told its alleged one million app developers how to ask users for permission to access this newly liberated data late on Friday night, but we already know many users don't bother reading the small print and just click the button without thinking of the consequences," added Cluley. "What they've failed to do is explain how Facebook will become more safety-conscious now that it has taken this controversial step."

A Facebook spokesman said: "Developers can now request permission to access a person’s address and mobile phone number to make applications built on Facebook more useful and efficient. You need to explicitly choose to share your data before any app or website can access it and no private information is shared without your permission. As an additional step for this new feature, you're not able to share your friends' address or mobile information.”

The social network does not vet its developers like Apple does for its App Store, despite the protestations of security firms, who have noticed the rise of spam on sites such as Facebook, as opposed to across email services. This means there are many rogue apps on Facebook which solely exist to scam users and will now have access to even more personal information, should a user accept the widened terms and conditions.

Felix Cohen, a consultant from Headshift, a technology and social media consultancy, thinks this latest developlement could be precursor to a new revenue stream for Facebook.

“I think Facebook is trying to develop a revenue stream for the future, which will revolve around sharing its most valuable asset: consumers’ data. It has made it very clear that it will never launch a subscription service, so while people are not paying with money for the service, they will have to pay with their data instead. Facebook needs to go beyond its advertising model in order to live up to its large [$50 billion] valuation and make vast amounts of money,” he explained.

Last year Facebook was forced to simplify its privacy settings in response to international criticism of the site’s increasingly complex systems for users to decide what aspects of their data is available online.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/fa...tails.html

[ZeroCenter]

So, how to get on Facebook without being "on" Facebook? A few days ago I did just that. Why would anyone put any personal contact info on it? Unless it goes to a free voice-mail service with a spam filter.

....and some try to claim "facebook isn't about commerce". yea, just like politicians aren't after your vote and elephants really fly, right?

Another perfect example of why FUDD ourselves? Does a peaceful inhabitant find their identity in a Name, their contact details, their facebook page? How can they when these are all used against us to steal our energy (wealth), why wish that on anyone else?

Without the economic commercial agenda, would Facebook even exist in its present form - i.e. people concerned about their personal details being shared with anyone?