Facebook Apps Want Your Personal Info

by Mitz Pantic from Tips4pc.com

Facebook Apps Want Your Personal Info

Facebook can be a polarizing device, especially when it comes to the hundreds of apps that blow up our newsfeed on a daily basis. I’m not sure why my friends think I’d have the capabilities to mend their virtual sheep in Farmville or that I wouldn’t attempt to steal their maidens in Castleville but every day like clockwork I get the request. If you’ve ever accidentally clicked on one of these requests or more morbidly…accepted one on purpose, you may have noticed Facebook asks to use your private information. While this can initially be an intrusive request, you’ll see that Facebook asks us for private information supposedly for our own good.

Facebook apps ask us for our private information to apparently give us a more personalized experience. When they first ask to allow access to our private information, images conjure up of them selling our phone numbers and email addresses to hordes of telemarketers lined up like day traders on Wall Street. Actually, the information they want to access is simply the statistics of that particular application. For instance, a certain Facebook app might access your age and country of origin to make sure the content is appropriate and catered to something you’d actually understand.

Facebook apps also ask for our private information to share your progress with friends who use the same app. If you play the word “XQXXQX” in Words With Friends and it somehow goes through, the app will share your 80-point word score with others. The apps also access your scores and totals so that friends can track your progress and figure ways to cheat to beat your point accumulation.

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This excerpt appears with permission from Tips4PC.com.

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