Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

‘People You May Know’ helped Facebook grow exponentially

marker.medium.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

101–110 of 155 posts

Re: ‘People You May Know’ helped Facebook grow exponentially

#101

Post by propogandist »

r0m4n0 wrote: post #64
cosmotron wrote: post #44

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If one person searched for the other by name (you know, just to see if they're on FB and what stuff is publicly shared), then they may appear in PYMK.

Yea this I believe to be true as well. A few people I’ve matched with on tinder repeatedly showed up on PYMK soon after. Leading up to a date would only make sense that they would search by name on Facebook. More likely that than the information between the services

Tinder, like most apps, constantly call graph.facebook.com to report everything you're doing

Re: ‘People You May Know’ helped Facebook grow exponentially

#103

Post by Barrin92 »

presumably wrote: post #85
uoaei wrote: post #62

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"Unintentionally uploaded" Because you just happened to accidentally interact with the API in just the right way and downloaded the information to just the right database and deployed a service to production which just happens to access that data... I don't understand how that statement right there isn't literally incriminating evidence. They admitted to uploading the data explicitly, and "unintentional" is a straigh…

> "unintentional" is a straight up lie based on how software works This is a very dangerous statement to make. Large systems are not like hackathon projects where you might understand and hold the entire scope and flow in your mind. Software absolutely can and does lead to unintended outcomes, else there would be no bugs.

>Large systems are not like hackathon projects where you might understand and hold the entire scope and flow in your mind.

I've seen this argument repeatedly now in a defense of Facebook, recently in a twitter thread where a facebook employee in a discussion about hate speech moderation responded along similar lines of "we are simply too large and don't know what's going on in every corner of the system"

I find it funny that this is used as a sort of excuse or defense. We can draw another conclusion. Like Goethe's Sorcerer's Apprentice Facebook has lost control over its own machinations and is simply too large.

Re: ‘People You May Know’ helped Facebook grow exponentially

#104

Post by [deleted] »

uoaei wrote: post #98
cameronbrown wrote: post #91

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Do you really think Facebook profited from this? I'd bet they took a million dollar PR hit if anything.

Yes, absolutely. It provides a whole new set of connections to improve their view on the IRL social network. It's hard to quantify exactly how much it benefits Facebook but it's not hyperbole to say it contributes positively to everything that makes Facebook money.

[deleted]

Re: ‘People You May Know’ helped Facebook grow exponentially

#105

Post by djannzjkzxn »

bathtub365 wrote: post #90
presumably wrote: post #85

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> "unintentional" is a straight up lie based on how software works This is a very dangerous statement to make. Large systems are not like hackathon projects where you might understand and hold the entire scope and flow in your mind. Software absolutely can and does lead to unintended outcomes, else there would be no bugs.

You’re saying an entire system was added to integrate with user email accounts, download all their contacts, and upload them to a database at Facebook, accidentally?

The article provides some relevant details:

> Facebook said it used to have a step in the account verification process where some users had the option to confirm their email address and voluntarily import their email contacts onto the site. The feature was meant to help them find their friends more effectively and improve ads, according to the company.

> That process was redesigned in May 2016. While the language, which explained the step, was removed, the feature itself was not, Facebook said. Hence, email contacts were still being uploaded to the site without users being aware of that fact.

The claim isn’t that the feature was created by accident. It’s that they failed to disable the feature in the backend when they removed parts of the UI. I can definitely see how this could happen by accident due to poor communication between managers and engineers across different teams. You could also choose to believe that it was an intentional error.

Re: ‘People You May Know’ helped Facebook grow exponentially

#106

Post by djannzjkzxn »

hbosch wrote: post #8
RcouF1uZ4gsC wrote: post #5

> A sex worker found Facebook recommending her clients, who did not know her true identity. A sperm donor got a suggestion for the biological child he never met. A psychiatrist learned that Facebook was recommending that some of her patients friend each other on the service. It is amazing how little pieces of information that are likely innocuous by themselves can be combined to develop a pretty thorough understandin…

The first and last must just be geolocation based, right? Like, these two people are in a room together every X day for Y hours... they probably know each other. The sperm donor guy, though... facial recognition? No idea.

There’s no need to speculate - the article we are commenting on informs us that happened through email contact sharing.

Re: ‘People You May Know’ helped Facebook grow exponentially

#107

Post by ryantheleach »

uoaei wrote: post #62
interlocutor wrote: post #60

In the early days, Facebook logged into user's email accounts and stole contact information without users' knowledge or authorization. This was possible because people used the same password for their email and Facebook, a practice common especially back in those days. This is one of their sources for PYMK. In fact Facebook has used this technique very recently too: A security researcher noticed the tech giant was pr…

"Unintentionally uploaded" Because you just happened to accidentally interact with the API in just the right way and downloaded the information to just the right database and deployed a service to production which just happens to access that data... I don't understand how that statement right there isn't literally incriminating evidence. They admitted to uploading the data explicitly, and "unintentional" is a straigh…

Some junior facebook dev: "Oh look, here's this ancient library for email logins, I can use this to create a way for people to confirm identity"

Oh, the library was for 10 years out of fashion, People You May Know? Well craaap.

Re: ‘People You May Know’ helped Facebook grow exponentially

#108

Post by simonebrunozzi »

interlocutor wrote: post #60

In the early days, Facebook logged into user's email accounts and stole contact information without users' knowledge or authorization. This was possible because people used the same password for their email and Facebook, a practice common especially back in those days. This is one of their sources for PYMK. In fact Facebook has used this technique very recently too: A security researcher noticed the tech giant was pr…

I didn't specifically know about this... But it's easy to believe, and it's a terrible thing.

Even worse, it hasn't been punished by law enforcement.

Re: ‘People You May Know’ helped Facebook grow exponentially

#109

Post by bathtub365 »

djannzjkzxn wrote: post #105
bathtub365 wrote: post #90

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You’re saying an entire system was added to integrate with user email accounts, download all their contacts, and upload them to a database at Facebook, accidentally?

The article provides some relevant details: > Facebook said it used to have a step in the account verification process where some users had the option to confirm their email address and voluntarily import their email contacts onto the site. The feature was meant to help them find their friends more effectively and improve ads, according to the company. > That process was redesigned in May 2016. While the language, wh…

Maybe the business should be set up so there’s less chance of such devastating breaches of privacy happening.

Re: ‘People You May Know’ helped Facebook grow exponentially

#110

Post by lmm »

brlewis wrote: post #69
mc32 wrote: post #35

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I’m not sure id hi as far as qualifying PYMK as an invasion of privacy, but there are common situations where you DO NOT want to connect with others or others you know/knew connect with you. Exes, Stalkers, People who can’t let go, Friends who are bad influences, etc...

Suppose A has contacts B and C. If A chooses to share contacts with Facebook, and Facebook suggests B and C to A, I can see why you'd say that's not an invasion of privacy. If Facebook suggests A to C, that's arguably an invasion of privacy. If Facebook suggests B and C to each other, that's unarguably an invasion of privacy.

> If Facebook suggests B and C to each other, that's unarguably an invasion of privacy.

How so?

Alice tells me she knows Bob and Charlie. I mention Charlie to Bob - completely normal human thing to do. Maybe I think they're in the same circle but I've forgotten exactly why or how I found that out - completely normal human memory behaviour. Where's the invasion of privacy?

Post reply on HN