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

Stalking Your Friends with Facebook Messenger

medium.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

171–180 of 190 posts

Re: Stalking Your Friends with Facebook Messenger

#171

Post by worklogin »

eertami wrote: post #71
orthoganol wrote: post #43

I find it hard to grasp why any intelligent individual who knows what goes on with Facebook would still voluntarily remain on Facebook. "Ah but the social ostracization!", seemingly the main reason why otherwise intelligent, informed people do stay on Facebook, just doesn't hold up anymore, as too many cool, socially active 20-somethings I know or are acquainted with have moved off of Facebook, mostly in last 1-2 yea…

What are the downsides to using Facebook as a communication tool? I have: a fake email, a fake name, no mobile number attached and I don't post statuses. Facebook groups and messages however are just so incredibly convenient and ubiquitous that you won't be able to convince entirely separate groups of people to leave and use a service you mandate - unless you are friends with solely technical people. Could I be a mem…

They know who you are. Rather, they know that someone exists with your cultural, political and social preferences, and with all the people with whom you're friends.

And then people tag you in their photos. So Facebook may not strictly know your name, but any agency (of course, never in America!) who backdoors or coerces Facebook could learn everything about you.

Re: Stalking Your Friends with Facebook Messenger

#172

Post by tdkl »

discardorama wrote: post #161
jsaxton86 wrote: post #109

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If you root your android device, you can install AppOps, which allows you to toggle the individual permissions on every application.

> If you root your android device,... Not to hijack a thread, but: this is is why Apple's iOS is such a compelling case. They make it so easy to control access to the location/microphone/etc. in one tab: Settings -> Privacy -> Location Services I don't know what Google is thinking, but given the current snooping climate you think they'd err on the side of the customer... but they don't.

> I don't know what Google is thinking

That customer data is valuable for them, so "the more the merrier" ?

Re: Stalking Your Friends with Facebook Messenger

#173

Post by c22 »

FreakyT wrote: post #103
cushychicken wrote: post #95

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've been doing that since I found out they were requiring access to text messages. One year later and I have zero regrets.

It's ridiculous how many completely irrelevant permissions they demand! Facebook's laundry list of permissions is perhaps the best example of how Android's permission system is completely broken.

I think Android's permission system works great. I saw Facebook's list of required permissions, considered whether these functions were necessary to provide the service I needed and whether I trusted Facebook to manage them for me, then declined to install the app.

Re: Stalking Your Friends with Facebook Messenger

#174

Post by mynameisvlad »

stephengillie wrote: post #100
nl wrote: post #62

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is a genuine question: why does not caring that Facebook collects that data make me less intelligent? Edit: Judging from the downvotes, asking this question is quite unpopular. Whilst I understand this opinion is unpopular I remain unconvinced it is less intelligent.

Just like getting a prenuptial agreement - don't worry about it if you don't plan on doing anything with your life. It's easy to forget - but the information they collect can be used by the group that collects it, and by other parties (Gov't TLAs, hackers, insurance companies, banks, business associates, contractors, partner companies). This can happen now, or at some point in the future. The data can be combined wit…

Once again, the same question arises. "why does not caring that Facebook collects that data make me less intelligent?"

I don't really care that the data can be collated. I don't really care about the conclusions drawn. It's not just a "oh I haven't done anything wrong, why should I care" argument, it's past that. I couldn't care less that Facebook, the US government, or some intruder knows I went to Whistler last weekend with my family, and that I took a few photos at Squamish. That data isn't really useful in any context. Similarly, I don't care if they know what events I attend, or who I'm friends with. It just doesn't bother me. Does that make me less intelligent? I would say of course not. If I was ignorant about this information, sure. But knowing the information and simply deciding it's not worth it to care about who sees these trivial bits of data about me shouldn't be called "less intelligent".

As someone else posted below, I value my social life and being able to quickly and easily interact with family and friends from around the world more than the privacy I could attain by not posting these random bits and bobs about my life.

Re: Stalking Your Friends with Facebook Messenger

#175

Post by icebraining »

untog wrote: post #163
Fuxy wrote: post #33

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's why i set myself a rule of whenever somebody says I will be there in 5 minutes I translate it to give me 5 minutes to show up if i don't forget about it. And I hold everyone to it. If you don't show up in the amount of time you specify I'm gone. I'm Romanian too I just hate wasting my time. My friends learned that really quickly.

What if they get stuck on the train? There are other, non-lazy reasons for being late. If I'd taken a 30 minute train ride to come and see you, been delayed by 10 minutes, then find you're gone when I arrive I don't think our friendship would last very long.

That was valid before cellphones, nowadays I expect people to call/message if they're late. I suppose that reading Fuxy's post literally implies that no such exception is allowed, but I assume it's not meant to be an inviolable rule.

Re: Stalking Your Friends with Facebook Messenger

#176

Post by nl »

stephengillie wrote: post #100
nl wrote: post #62

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is a genuine question: why does not caring that Facebook collects that data make me less intelligent? Edit: Judging from the downvotes, asking this question is quite unpopular. Whilst I understand this opinion is unpopular I remain unconvinced it is less intelligent.

Just like getting a prenuptial agreement - don't worry about it if you don't plan on doing anything with your life. It's easy to forget - but the information they collect can be used by the group that collects it, and by other parties (Gov't TLAs, hackers, insurance companies, banks, business associates, contractors, partner companies). This can happen now, or at some point in the future. The data can be combined wit…

I do data science in my day job. I understand combining datasets.

Again, why does using Facebook make me less intelligent?

Re: Stalking Your Friends with Facebook Messenger

#177

Post by dublinben »

socket0 wrote: post #52
orthoganol wrote: post #43

I find it hard to grasp why any intelligent individual who knows what goes on with Facebook would still voluntarily remain on Facebook. "Ah but the social ostracization!", seemingly the main reason why otherwise intelligent, informed people do stay on Facebook, just doesn't hold up anymore, as too many cool, socially active 20-somethings I know or are acquainted with have moved off of Facebook, mostly in last 1-2 yea…

I like to think that I'm "any intelligent individual", and I use Facebook. That's where some close friends and family are, and if I want to keep in contact with them, that's where I need to be. I understand the nature of the data Facebook collects about me, and I understand what they would like to do with that data. They want to know who I am, what makes me tick, and use that knowledge to show me advertising I'm more…

>if I want to keep in contact with them, that's where I need to be

As an intelligent individual, you must recognize that this isn't really true. You were able to communicate with your family and friends before Facebook existed. You can still communicate with them now, over other media like email, telephone, etc. You (and many others) are simply choosing to use a hostile platform to stay in touch because it is 'easier' or 'more popular' than the alternatives.

Re: Stalking Your Friends with Facebook Messenger

#178

Post by dublinben »

nl wrote: post #176
stephengillie wrote: post #100

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Just like getting a prenuptial agreement - don't worry about it if you don't plan on doing anything with your life. It's easy to forget - but the information they collect can be used by the group that collects it, and by other parties (Gov't TLAs, hackers, insurance companies, banks, business associates, contractors, partner companies). This can happen now, or at some point in the future. The data can be combined wit…

I do data science in my day job. I understand combining datasets. Again, why does using Facebook make me less intelligent?

If you cannot recognize the harmful implications of this mass data collection, then you are either ignorant or hopelessly naive.

Re: Stalking Your Friends with Facebook Messenger

#179

Post by kuschku »

jfaat wrote: post #144
kuschku wrote: post #136

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My phone – which combines GPS with GLONASS – usually gets about 40m accuracy with just GPS, but with combined GPS and GLONASS I have about 24 satellites in view, even in buildings, getting better than 1m precision.

In fact, the vast majority of modern smartphones support GLONASS. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_smartphones_supporting_...

It makes sense, north of 50°N GPS accuracy goes quickly down, as most of its satellites’ orbits are optimized for coverage over the equator.

Re: Stalking Your Friends with Facebook Messenger

#180

Post by nl »

dublinben wrote: post #178
nl wrote: post #176

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I do data science in my day job. I understand combining datasets. Again, why does using Facebook make me less intelligent?

If you cannot recognize the harmful implications of this mass data collection, then you are either ignorant or hopelessly naive.

I'm asking for it to be explained.

I'm not arguing that data collection is never harmful. Driving a car is potentially harmful too and indeed caused more instances of actual harm than data collection does. And yet I drive a car, in full awareness of the potential harm.

I am saying that using Facebook - in full awareness of the data collected - is not an inherently unintelligent thing to do.

Post reply on HN