Okay Geek Farm
The truth about Facebook's Developer API
Chris Self
You may have read that Facebook has grown to become the most popular websites in the entire world. But what you might have not known is that when you allow a game or application to view your profile information, they gain access to any information you make public. This in effect makes Facebook not only the most popular website in the world, but also the most dangerous!
“Build the social and personalized web”
Anyone who has taken a look at the developers page on Facebook has seen this phrase before: “Build the social and personalized web.” To any normal person, it sound’s great; games and applications that are personalized for you. It probably seems pretty cool being able to see how many profile views you’ve gotten and the number of status updates you’ve posted, but there’s something you might not be aware of…
When you authorize third party applications, applications that are not built by Facebook, they gain access to all of your information. They see your profile picture, your location, the school you go to, where you work, the movies you like, and so much more. Even if it’s all part of Mark Zuckerberg’s idea to “bring the world together”, sharing information with unknown people is something many people aren’t ready for yet.
The risks you’re taking
Let’s setup a scenario here. Some guy, who we’ll name Chuck, wants to meet some news ladies. He’s fresh out of college, has majored in computer science and is now residing in New York City. He comes across the profiles of some girls in the city he finds attractive, but doesn’t want to add them as friends since they wouldn’t know him.
In his brain, the next logical step is to find a way to get these girl’s information and find them. Pretty creepy already, right? He goes to the Developers page and starts building the simplest application he can think of. It’s a NYC exclusive application that “analyzes” your information and find out if you belong where you live in the city.
Within two hours, he’s done building his application and as you might guess, it wasn’t going to “analyze” anything. It was just going to throw out a randomnly generated “yes” or “no” answer. With the application now online, people begin using the application like crazy. It’s a huge hit, but what is Chuck doing? He’s writing down your name, your location, wherever you work, and anything else you’ve made public. All he needs to do is find you.
So what if we take this “innocent” graduate student out of the equation and throw in someone else? As bad as it may seem, the person who built that application you cherish so much could be a sexual offender or child predator. It’s seems stupid or scary for me to say, but that’s why it’s so important to keep your information private on the internet.
Keeping safe
The easiest way to keep your information from other’s eyes is to keep it private. As much as you love playing with those seemingly “innocent” games or applications, it’s probably best to stay away. The best thing you can do is play it safe and take no risks; especially if you’re young. And for any parents, make sure to keep your children safe. As much as you think this could never happen them, there’s always a risk involved with the Internet. Finally, note that controversy over the highly debated Developer API issue isn’t new. Until Facebook does something that brings this open access of information to halt, play it safe.
