Facebook Strikes Down Privacy Again

Despite your privacy settings, Camping will accurately predict the exact time and date of the Rapture before Facebook will respect your explicit privacy choices. I recently went to read a review on Yelp and was surprised to my name and Facebook picture as well as a message that Yelp can personalize the page for me. I never authorized Facebook to share my information with Yelp. It turns out that Facebook decided to partner with Yelp and that means that you somehow approved of Facebook sharing information with Yelp.

Here’s what is happening with Facebook privacy. While you aren’t looking at your app settings, Facebook is busy adding apps and claiming that you authorized them. Facebook actually added Yelp, Bing, TripAdvisor, Scribd, Marketplace, Calendar, and my DROID without ever asking me or notifying me.

The Marketplace app was granted permissions I would never have authorized. The “Droid” app had even more permissions.

No matter how correct you believe your settings are, absolutely nothing you place on Facebook is private. Facebook will always come up with new and unauthorized ways to share your data without your explicit consent and generally without your knowledge.

In privacy settings I have turned off platform apps. I am betting that Facebook will either turn them back on or find another way to share information that I have explicitly indicated I did not want shared.

Remember, everything you put on Facebook, regardless of your privacy settings, must be viewed as public information or you need psychological help in dealing with your delusions.

You might want to review Paul Laudanski’s detailed guide to Facebook privacy settings!

Randy Abrams
Director of Technical Education
Cyber Threat Analysis Center
ESET North America