This post is about the other side of Facebook apps, the side you probably don’t even know about. Here’s the scoop. When you add an app, it asks for certain permissions. One of those permissions is access to your personal information. Did you know that Facebook shares your information with apps even if you don’t use those apps? Unless you say no, Facebook share your personal data with apps that your friends use. Here’s how to limit this theft of your private details.
1. Same as yesterday, go to the top right corner of any Facebook page, click the down arrow and choose Settings. Next, click Apps. On the page that comes up, look for this section underneath the list of apps that you use:
‘Apps others use’ is where we are headed today.
2. This is what you see next. Remember that these are not even apps that you use, just apps that your friends use:
Make sure all of these are unchecked.
Make sure you uncheck everything on this menu. Everything. Don’t be surprised that you didn’t know about all of this. Facebook tends to hide such things, hoping you won’t be able to find them. That’s why we’re here.
Facebook tells you that sharing all of this data is to ‘make their experience better and more social’. What do you think? How will letting an app know everything you share with Facebook make things better for your friend’s Facebook experience? It won’t. All this does is give advertisers a fuller picture of your friend’s friends…in other words you!
Not only does Facebook hide the fact that foreign apps use your data, they penalize you for trying to increase your privacy. Sure, you can turn off all Platform apps but ‘you will not be able to use any games or apps yourself’. To us, this seems downright petty. Let us know what you think about all of this.
Thanks for reading! Comments, questions, suggestions are all welcomed. Use the form at the bottom or Like our Facebook page. Here’s the link: Computers Made Simply on Facebook
Facebook has made it very easy, almost too easy, for users to add apps to their profile. As you know, many apps hit you up even when you’re quietly surfing around outside of your Facebook profile? Want to comment on something? Sure, just let this app access your Facebook account. Want to sign a petition? Easy! Just give us clearance to snoop around your Facebook profile. Before you let apps access your data, you’d better find out what kind of things they can see. You might be surprised at the extent and the duration of this access.
1. From any page on Facebook, click on the tiny icon on the very top right, it looks like an arrow pointing down, and choose ‘Settings’ on the menu that pops out:
Settings is where we’re headed.
2. Next, look for the word Apps on the left side. Click on it:
‘Apps’ is next.
3. The next part is a bit tricky so read this carefully. Facebook only shows you the most recent apps that you’ve used on the Apps menu that comes up. What you’re going to do here is to edit all of your apps, once you see how to do it, but note that you have to click on ‘Show All Apps’ down at the bottom to access the full list of ones that you use. For now, click on the word Edit on any app that’s on this page:
Some apps are here, including games, but more are hidden. Make sure you edit them all.
4. It doesn’t matter which one you choose but click Edit on one. Here’s what you see next:
You might be surprised at everything a Facebook app says that it needs.
5. Surprised yet? Apps need to use just about everything, at least they say they do. You can change the visibility, remove the ‘posting on your behalf’ ability and change when the app notifies you. We have ours set to ‘Never’. You can also see when the app last accessed your data. Make sure you are comfortable with all of this ‘information sharing’ before you click Close at the top. If you’re not comfortable with it all, maybe you should remove the app. Click ‘Remove app’ to see what surprises lurk behind that link:
Did you think it would be that easy? It seems that apps may keep your information even though you have deleted them.
Can you see why we’re concerned about these seemingly simple apps? Not only do they tell you that they require access to all of your personal information, they keep this data even after you remove their permissions. Think about it. Facebook collects your personal details and markets this data to many different kinds of apps. Something that seemed fun and innocent at the time has suddenly changed its tone, hasn’t it?
We hope that we’ve opened your eyes a bit about Facebook’s apps. Share this with your friends and family. There’s no reason why you should feel obligated to share your personal info with anyone you don’t know. If you’re hooked on the games that Facebook offers, think about what the games get out of it all. They’re free, right? Maybe, just maybe, the games take your personal data and fine tune the ads that you see on their pages. Your personal details are helping the apps, not you. We suggest that you create a totally fake Facebook account just to play games. Let your friends know that it’s you and play away all day, free from sharing your personal details with strangers.
Thanks for reading!
(Just so you know, if you want to comment here, you don’t have to sign up through Facebook. We do ask for an email address but you can use a fake one, we will never know. Your email is never shown to anyone. We only ask for it in order to send you a personalized response. This response is automatic, we don’t actually use it ourselves. Also, liking our Facebook page doesn’t require any data sharing. We get a notice that you’ve liked our page, that’s it. All we can see is whatever information a stranger sees when someone searches for you. We cannot access any other information than that, nor do we want to.)
