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Facebook confirms it is scanning your private messages to increase Likes

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Re: Facebook confirms it is scanning your private messages to increase Likes

#11

There's a reason I disable Facebook buttons on my browser and don't stick them on my own sites (including my blog). I don't trust Facebook with my browsing data, and I don't want to subject users of any website I work on to their abuse, either. "Move fast and break expectation of privacy"

[deleted]

Re: Facebook confirms it is scanning your private messages to increase Likes

#12
I know FB scans private messages. You cannot send links with certain domains without getting an error message. Sure, they don't have some dude in a cubical looking at each and every message, but if they are scanning for domains, how hard is it to scan for keywords within those private messages? Mention your new iPhone in a message, and you see ads for iPhone cases. Make a Tony Romo joke and you see ads for an RGIII jersey, etc etc.

Re: Facebook confirms it is scanning your private messages to increase Likes

#13
post #12

I know FB scans private messages. You cannot send links with certain domains without getting an error message. Sure, they don't have some dude in a cubical looking at each and every message, but if they are scanning for domains, how hard is it to scan for keywords within those private messages? Mention your new iPhone in a message, and you see ads for iPhone cases. Make a Tony Romo joke and you see ads for an RGIII j…

They scan for even more than that, they'll report you to the FBI if they suspect you of illegal activity. http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/07/12/us-usa-internet-pr...

Re: Facebook confirms it is scanning your private messages to increase Likes

#14
Doesn't sound like a big deal at all. There certainly aren't any privacy implications. When you send a link to a website via PM the 'like' counter on that page on that website will increase by one. Makes sense (not perfect though e.g. if you're directing a friend to something you don't like). It's not like the 'like' is then shared publicly to your friends not part of the private conversation.

Re: Facebook confirms it is scanning your private messages to increase Likes

#15
This is known by most Facebook App Developers.

What makes up the number shown on my Like button? http://developers.facebook.com/docs/reference/plugins/like/

The number shown is the sum of:

The number of likes of this URL. The number of shares of this URL (this includes copy/pasting a link back to Facebook). The number of likes and comments on stories on Facebook about this URL. The number of inbox messages containing this URL as an attachment.

Re: Facebook confirms it is scanning your private messages to increase Likes

#16

Doesn't sound like a big deal at all. There certainly aren't any privacy implications. When you send a link to a website via PM the 'like' counter on that page on that website will increase by one. Makes sense (not perfect though e.g. if you're directing a friend to something you don't like). It's not like the 'like' is then shared publicly to your friends not part of the private conversation.

It's an ontological problem, I think. Things started out with just 'like', but then they added comments, etc.. the modern like counter much more like Tumblr's "note" counter.

Re: Facebook confirms it is scanning your private messages to increase Likes

#18
"Private messages" and "Facebook" are mutually exclusive.

Facebook is the antithesis of privacy.

Dreamers think FB has value.

Does the average person, of any age, think privacy has value?

What's more valuable?

Can all value be measured in monetary terms?

Web traffic has value (e.g. we can sell display ads). FB has web traffic. But so did milliondollarwebsite.com.

Privacy OTOH seems a long-lived concept, dating from at least the dawn of civilisation. I'd argue we have a lot more privacy than our ancestors. A trend that has continued unabated for hundreds of years. FB is but a {milli,micro,nano,pico}second in the evolutionary timeline of privacy.

I'm not throwing away my fig leaf just yet.

Re: Facebook confirms it is scanning your private messages to increase Likes

#19

There's a reason I disable Facebook buttons on my browser and don't stick them on my own sites (including my blog). I don't trust Facebook with my browsing data, and I don't want to subject users of any website I work on to their abuse, either. "Move fast and break expectation of privacy"

how do you go about disabling facebook buttons?

Re: Facebook confirms it is scanning your private messages to increase Likes

#20

There's a reason I disable Facebook buttons on my browser and don't stick them on my own sites (including my blog). I don't trust Facebook with my browsing data, and I don't want to subject users of any website I work on to their abuse, either. "Move fast and break expectation of privacy"

how do you go about disabling facebook buttons?

The facebook button is an iframe that links to a particular URL. You block that URL (+wildcard) in your browser.
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