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Making a prediction: When you wake up tomorrow morning, the front page will be filled with stories like these about every type of app you can think of. It will only get worse from here.
I have little doubt. My only question/interest is - what is the most high-profile and also the most odd-ball app/company that will be found to have done this.
Making a prediction: When you wake up tomorrow morning, the front page will be filled with stories like these about every type of app you can think of. It will only get worse from here.
Worse is an interesting choice of words .... if a bunch of companies get shamed into respecting people's privacy then that's great, and if it gets the ball rolling and triggers the wrath of app stores ... that's even better.
As an iOS developer, I've been surprised all along that the SDK gives you full access to the address book without asking for permission (like Core Location and the Apple Push Notification Service). I've always thought that would one day change, and I suspect that posts like this and the one about Path will make that happen.
I'm also an iOS developer although I've never needed to use the Address Book API's. I always presumed that some sort of permission was required I'm really surprised it isn't. I actually think this is a bigger privacy concern than location access as not only are you giving away access to your contact details but everyone who has trusted you with theirs.
I understand the complaints about all this, but isn't there a massive elephant in the room that everyone has temporarily forgotten?
FourSquare Too. Here was their response to my complaint. Subject: Do you store my contacts? ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ✆ via gmail.com 17/07/2011 to privacy Hi. I recently downloaded the Android Foursquare application. It automatically started scanning the contacts on my phone. Questions: 1. Does the application upload my contact…
It is standard customer service industry faux-friendliness/faux-compassion. It is infuriating but I guess it works on the idiot majority of customers because most companies talk this way
FourSquare Too. Here was their response to my complaint. Subject: Do you store my contacts? ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ✆ via gmail.com 17/07/2011 to privacy Hi. I recently downloaded the Android Foursquare application. It automatically started scanning the contacts on my phone. Questions: 1. Does the application upload my contact…
I think they answered your question pretty thoroughly and promptly, despite your intense neckbearding. Certainly more thoroughly than the Path guys.
[1] A zuck: someone who, due to a combination of ignorance and malice, is dismissive of others' efforts to improve their security and protect their privacy.
Android's "permissions" in the market aren't looking so bad now are they?
And I wonder how many PhoneGap based applications (iPhone or Android) have XSS flaws that a hacker can springboard to snarf the local address book???!!!
FourSquare Too. Here was their response to my complaint. Subject: Do you store my contacts? ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ✆ via gmail.com 17/07/2011 to privacy Hi. I recently downloaded the Android Foursquare application. It automatically started scanning the contacts on my phone. Questions: 1. Does the application upload my contact…
I think they answered your question pretty thoroughly and promptly, despite your intense neckbearding. Certainly more thoroughly than the Path guys.
However, the impression I got from that email exchange was not that they have great customer service and they really care about what he thought - it was that he hit on a really sensitive issue that they are super worried about and probably debate internally. Wouldn't surprise me at all if his email got directly forwarded to the top guys at FourSquare etc.
Nobody wants the kind of negative press Facebook has gotten over privacy and that Path, Hipster and everybody else who is doing this is probably about to get once the mainstream media catch wind of this...
Earlier quoted context omitted.
>> "Get over it." What a stupid response. I'm not a huge privacy advocate but this is a massive breach of trust/privacy. Not only are apps taking your personal contact information but the contact information of everyone you have in your address book. So regardless of your stance on privacy, the privacy of all of your contacts is also at stake.
If I thought these companies were going to do something malicious with the data then it would be an issue. These companies aren't spammers. They aren't criminals. They don't plan to do anything malicious with the data. Your privacy, my privacy or any of my contacts privacy isn't at risk. It's not at risk but I don't think someone at Hipster is going through the data and using it in any way.