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Zoom iOS app sends data to Facebook even if you don’t have a Facebook account

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Re: Zoom iOS app sends data to Facebook even if you don’t have a Facebook account

#181

Post by Legogris »

arielm wrote: post #101
somethoughts wrote: post #70

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Similar to how we have organizations which can certify whether produce is organic or not, we need organizations which can certify whether apps and websites are certified ad tracking free.

We (Appfigures) are scanning apps for SDKs so we know which trackers, analytics, location trackers apps are using. We’re working on a way to make that data accessible to app developers so they can learn from competitors, but having a simple way to tell if an app tracks you that doesn’t require signing up or anything like that could be an interesting idea. Would you actually check an app before downloading/using it?

Personally, I'd want to have the source and run that software myself - how else could I trust that the app developer didn't bribe you or find an easy way to subvert your detection?

Re: Zoom iOS app sends data to Facebook even if you don’t have a Facebook account

#182

Post by ipsum2 »

ChrisMarshallNY wrote: post #113
ChrisMarshallNY wrote: post #37

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If they did, it would raise a ruckus. There's a lot of developers that rely on these dependencies, and just blocking them would cause a major backlash.

I'm wondering why this post was so unpopular. It wasn't meant to be offensive or judgmental, in any way at all.

Some people on Hacker News hate Facebook so much, that they downvote factual information if it doesn't fit with their views.

Re: Zoom iOS app sends data to Facebook even if you don’t have a Facebook account

#183

Post by [deleted] »

AnthonyMouse wrote: post #71
st3fan wrote: post #26

EVERY. SINGLE. APP. THAT. INCLUDES. THE. FACEBOOK. SDK. Even if you don't log in. The Facebook SDK sends data back. Hook your device up to an intercepting proxy and start up a few apps. 99% of them do this. I really wish Apple would put an end to this.

> I really wish Apple would put an end to this. This is what really gives lie to the whole walled garden thing. Its selling point is supposed to be in Apple preventing things like this, but here we are in reality and they don't. Meanwhile they do e.g. prevent Signal from replacing Apple's default app for SMS, which has no purpose other than to create barriers for cross-platform competitors to the default apps.

[deleted]

Re: Zoom iOS app sends data to Facebook even if you don’t have a Facebook account

#184

Post by Legogris »

doctor_eval wrote: post #90
SlowRobotAhead wrote: post #38

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You think Zoom is doing it for fun? This is a revenue source right?

Why do comments suggesting that data collection is paid for by Facebook/google get downvoted? Serious question. This wasn’t my comment but I think it’s true and I’ve said the same previously and was downvoted too. Is it because it’s obvious and well known? Did I miss the memo too? If Facebook is encouraging the capture and transmission of this data and paying for it, does this mean that Facebook has indemnified Zoom?

The GP is easy to interpret as justifying or excusing the behavior. Something being profitable doesn't suddenly make it OK.

Re: Zoom iOS app sends data to Facebook even if you don’t have a Facebook account

#185

Post by jjgreen »

Nextgrid wrote: post #107
arielm wrote: post #101

Earlier quoted context omitted.

We (Appfigures) are scanning apps for SDKs so we know which trackers, analytics, location trackers apps are using. We’re working on a way to make that data accessible to app developers so they can learn from competitors, but having a simple way to tell if an app tracks you that doesn’t require signing up or anything like that could be an interesting idea. Would you actually check an app before downloading/using it?

I am very shy of downloading apps because I expect most of them to stalk me or rat me out to Facebook and don't have the time to check for myself (by using Charles Proxy or Burp Suite). I would definitely appreciate it if there was a service that allows me to quickly check if an app is safe.

You should try my appcheckr app. Well yes, it does generate a bit of network traffic, it's, err, updating.

Re: Zoom iOS app sends data to Facebook even if you don’t have a Facebook account

#186

Post by godelski »

gowld wrote: post #146
ngold wrote: post #132

Earlier quoted context omitted.

People aren't allowed to go through my mailbox and sell that information. I don't see how this is any different.

They are allowed to look at you and take notes and sell them.

Stalking is considered illegal in most states and countries.

Frankly I can't figure out why stalking a single person is illegal but stalking a billion people is considered good business.

Re: Zoom iOS app sends data to Facebook even if you don’t have a Facebook account

#187

Post by dahfizz »

Legogris wrote: post #177
dahfizz wrote: post #99

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think you've missed your parents point. The problem they point out is that well intentioned businesspeople who want to provide you a useful service and store your data correctly are priced out. If you want to deal with medical data of any kind, you need a lawyer. Full stop. It doesn't matter how good your intentions are, or how many "best practice" blog posts you follow. You need to hire a lawyer, and lawyers are i…

If you don't store any data you won't need any lawyers. You don't need to store a single byte of data on your users or customers to provide a service or software using that data.

> If you don't store any data you won't need any lawyers.

Wrong. HIPAA applies to any business that transmits and/or has access to PHI. You don't need to be storing data on your own hard drives to be subject to these laws.

This is exactly my point. You are thinking like an engineer, and Congress is not. You cannot assume anything. You need to hire a lawyer, or you are opening yourself up to serious liability.

Re: Zoom iOS app sends data to Facebook even if you don’t have a Facebook account

#188

Post by floatingatoll »

phwd wrote: post #65

At the risk of pointing to the documentation, graph-facebook-com/app/activities is an endpoint used by 3rd party developers working with Facebook SDKs to send app analytic data for insights. https://developers.facebook.com/docs/marketing-api/app-event... http://www.facebook.com/analytics https://business.facebook.com/events_manager/app/events This is what a URL can look like. graph-facebook-com/1106907002683888/activ…

It’s generally not a good idea to clearly “wink wink” indicate how to abuse an endpoint, since that abuse can be easily interpreted under various criminal laws as malicious and worthy of prosecution. You could protect yourself against such accusations with more neutral language, starting with rewording the “litter” sentence.

Re: Zoom iOS app sends data to Facebook even if you don’t have a Facebook account

#189

Post by godelski »

dahfizz wrote: post #99
danudey wrote: post #86

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If a company can't 'innovate' without sharing users' data with third parties or treating it recklessly through lax security (or uploading database dumps to publicly-accessible S3 buckets) then that company doesn't deserve to be in business. It doesn't take a suite of lawyers to enforce that, either. Health care is gigantic mess of bullshit in the US especially, because of the multiple different 'stakeholders' - custo…

I think you've missed your parents point. The problem they point out is that well intentioned businesspeople who want to provide you a useful service and store your data correctly are priced out. If you want to deal with medical data of any kind, you need a lawyer. Full stop. It doesn't matter how good your intentions are, or how many "best practice" blog posts you follow. You need to hire a lawyer, and lawyers are i…

> The problem they point out is that well intentioned businesspeople who want to provide you a useful service and store your data correctly are priced out.

Then the way to do this is to simplify laws and their understanding. A company shouldn't need a large legal team just to figure out if they are doing something legal or not. It kinda sounds ridiculous when you think about it. That you have to hire a bunch of lawyers to figure out if you are a criminal or not. That clearly means things are too complex. I get that there are places this should apply to, but not small businesses and startups.

You can have regulation that is both easy to understand and effective. There is also letter and spirit of the law. We should never let the letter hinder the spirit.

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