Facebook’s Instant Personalization Is the Real Privacy Problem
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Re: Facebook’s Instant Personalization Is the Real Privacy Problem
#2This actually wasn't a surprise — I wrote about it a few weeks ago (http://techcrunch.com/2010/03/27/facebook-privacy-connect/) and it was hinted at in Facebook's new Terms of Service.
Facebook knows it could lead to some major backlash too, so they're being very conservative with the initial rollout. If you go to Yelp, it's actually hard to tell at first glance that any data sharing has occurred. Go to Pandora and it will know what bands you like, but who is going to get upset about that? And Docs.com doesn't appear to be open to the public yet.
As the program expands, though, there could be a pretty serious shitstorm. I don't think people understand what the 'Everyone' option means, and this could be the first time they realize what they signed up for during Facebook's privacy overhaul last December, when Everyone became the default.
Re: Facebook’s Instant Personalization Is the Real Privacy Problem
#3This actually wasn't a surprise — I wrote about it a few weeks ago ( http://techcrunch.com/2010/03/27/facebook-privacy-connect/ ) and it was hinted at in Facebook's new Terms of Service. Facebook knows it could lead to some major backlash too, so they're being very conservative with the initial rollout. If you go to Yelp, it's actually hard to tell at first glance that any data sharing has occurred. Go to Pandora and…
But you know what? There's a setting in Privacy Settings->Applications and Websites called "Instant Personalization". Uncheck it and there you go. I realize there are a lot of people who won't do this but the option is there.
Re: Facebook’s Instant Personalization Is the Real Privacy Problem
#4This actually wasn't a surprise — I wrote about it a few weeks ago ( http://techcrunch.com/2010/03/27/facebook-privacy-connect/ ) and it was hinted at in Facebook's new Terms of Service. Facebook knows it could lead to some major backlash too, so they're being very conservative with the initial rollout. If you go to Yelp, it's actually hard to tell at first glance that any data sharing has occurred. Go to Pandora and…
But you know what? There's a setting in Privacy Settings->Applications and Websites called "Instant Personalization". Uncheck it and there you go. I realize there are a lot of people who won't do this but the option is there.
I did just that, and this is what it told me:
"Please keep in mind that if you opt out, your friends may still share public Facebook information about you to personalize their experience on these partner sites unless you block the application."
Re: Facebook’s Instant Personalization Is the Real Privacy Problem
#5This actually wasn't a surprise — I wrote about it a few weeks ago ( http://techcrunch.com/2010/03/27/facebook-privacy-connect/ ) and it was hinted at in Facebook's new Terms of Service. Facebook knows it could lead to some major backlash too, so they're being very conservative with the initial rollout. If you go to Yelp, it's actually hard to tell at first glance that any data sharing has occurred. Go to Pandora and…
But you know what? There's a setting in Privacy Settings->Applications and Websites called "Instant Personalization". Uncheck it and there you go. I realize there are a lot of people who won't do this but the option is there.
Does that setting keep the FB iframe request w/ my cookie and URL I'm viewing from being sent to FB? That's the real issue in my book.
Re: Facebook’s Instant Personalization Is the Real Privacy Problem
#6Even with instant personalization turned off, your friends can share your info on any service they get suckered into using. Given how many of my Facebook friends bombard me with quizzes and Farmville, I'm guessing that's going to happen a lot. You have to block each application individually.
Moreover, any site can display your profile information. http://cnn.com even seems to combine it with what CNN stories they liked recently, which makes me wonder how much data they can read back. Has anyone taken a look at the Facebook social plugins to determine how much data, if any, you can get out of them?
Re: Facebook’s Instant Personalization Is the Real Privacy Problem
#7This actually wasn't a surprise — I wrote about it a few weeks ago ( http://techcrunch.com/2010/03/27/facebook-privacy-connect/ ) and it was hinted at in Facebook's new Terms of Service. Facebook knows it could lead to some major backlash too, so they're being very conservative with the initial rollout. If you go to Yelp, it's actually hard to tell at first glance that any data sharing has occurred. Go to Pandora and…
But you know what? There's a setting in Privacy Settings->Applications and Websites called "Instant Personalization". Uncheck it and there you go. I realize there are a lot of people who won't do this but the option is there.
That's sort of beside the point. If people start freaking out about this, they aren't going to see that setting and say "Oh, I guess this is OK then". They're going to be angry that they were signed up for it in the first place without realizing what was going on.
Re: Facebook’s Instant Personalization Is the Real Privacy Problem
#8The author states...
Instant personalization means that if you show up to the Internet radio site Pandora for the first time, it will now be able to look directly at your Facebook profile and use public information — name, profile picture, gender and connections, plus anything else you’ve made public — to give you a personalized experience.
Is this true? A simple enable or opt-in prompt in the frame on the first visit to a site would be the expected behavior here.
Re: Facebook’s Instant Personalization Is the Real Privacy Problem
#9Even with instant personalization turned off, your friends can share your info on any service they get suckered into using. Given how many of my Facebook friends bombard me with quizzes and Farmville, I'm guessing that's going to happen a lot. You have to block each application individually. Moreover, any site can display your profile information. http://cnn.com even seems to combine it with what CNN stories they lik…
We were told that third parties can't get any information from the social plugins. The data is served directly from Facebook using an iframe.
Re: Facebook’s Instant Personalization Is the Real Privacy Problem
#10"Facebook also introduced a way for certain sites to push this further than everyone else. Three carefully chosen launch partners — Microsoft’s Docs.com, Yelp and Pandora — have access to what Facebook is calling “instant personalization.” This is a powerful, inventive and creepy tool that the company hopes to extend to other partners but is testing the waters with these three first."
Wait a minute; Yelp? Isn't that the small business extortion site? What a weird outfit for anyone to want to associate themselves with.