Privacy Fail: How Facebook Steals Your Friends Phone Numbers
In early January, Facebook updated their iPhone app to include a Contact Sync feature. In a nutshell, “Facebook Contact Sync” allows you to synchronise your friends’ latest Facebook profile pictures with the matching contact entry in your mobile phone’s address book. Due to “Terms of Service Issues” however, Facebook does not sync your friends email addresses or phone numbers (listed on their Facebook profile) TO your phone.
Ironically, what Facebook WILL DO, with neither your knowledge or consent, is import ALL the names and phone numbers FROM your phone’s address book and upload them to your Facebook Phonebook app (Click HERE to see your Facebook Phonebook) on Facebook.com, thus storing your private contact numbers on Facebook’s servers. Once your phone is synced , Facebook will attempt to match the newly uploaded phone numbers to users that have listed the same phone number on their Facebook profile, wether you are friends with them or not. If Facebook cannot make a match, it will create a new contact entry in your Facebook Phonebook using the contact details imported from your phone, and add a link to invite them to join Facebook. And guess what? There is no way to delete the names and numbers Facebook imports from your phone’s address book.
Boom. You just got jacked by Facebook.
So what is so worrisome about Facebook uploading your mobile phone’s address book to their servers? Several things:
1) Facebook doesn’t warn users that they are uploading their phone’s adress book to Facebook. In fact, because Facebook doesn’t sync contact numbers or email addresses TO your phone, most users wrongly assume that Facebook Contact Sync only syncs user pictures. In reality though, they are pumping your address book, without your consent.
2) Phone numbers are private and valuable. Most people who have entrusted you with their phone numbers assume you will keep them private and safe. If you were to ask your friends, family or co-workers if they are ok with you uploading their private phone numbers to be cross-referenced with other Facebook users, how many of them do you think would be ok with it?
3) Facebook doesn’t exactly have a perfect track record when it comes to protecting your privacy. And whilst it’s unlikely that your data will fall into the wrong hands or be used for evil, it’s still a possibility. If you can look past that and entrust Facebook with your own information, that’s fine. But can you really make that call (pun painfully intended) for every single person in your mobile phone’s address book? Would you like it if someone else was making that call about your own private information?
4) Facebook’s privacy policy isn’t a two way street. While they won’t let you sync phone numbers and email addresses from Facebook TO you mobile phone, they are quite happy to to sync ALL your phone numbers on your mobile phone TO Facebook and not let you delete it. How is that not a Terms of Service issue?
5) Whilst checking my Facebook Phonebook, I noticed that there were a number of people that I did not know and was not friends with. Facebook had matched them to phone numbers imported from my phone. Turns out some of these unknown users had fraudulently listed the phone numbers of hotels or businesses, that I had saved on my phone, as their own. Other users simply had phone numbers that matched some of my contacts due to both them and I not including an international dialling code before the phone number in question.
Here is another scenario: Random guy, meets random girl in random club. Girl gives boy phone number. Boy is blasted. Boy doesn’t enter phone number correctly and confuses the last two digits. In a twist of fate, the phone number he enters is YOUR phone number (Your phone number and random girl’s phone number are the same, except for the last two digits). Boy syncs phone to Facebook. Facebook matches your newly uploaded phone number to your Facebook profile. Now random boy has your name, Facebook profile and phone number. Unlikely scenario, perhaps, but still possible. When a wrong number is dialed, someone usually picks up, right? Well why couldn’t that person be you? The point is your phone number is being cross referenced in a system-wide Facebook phone directory, and you never opted in.
6) Facebook is notoriously littered with hundreds of malicious “Facebook Apps“, phishing scams and hacked accounts. Their sole purpose is to pump your account for your private data and that of your connected friends. Facebook is not the type of environment most users are comfortable storing phone numbers on, nor should it be. As much as I have defended Facebook in the past, the amount of hacked accounts I see on a regular basis on Facebook forces me to think otherwise.
The Bottom Line:
I’m not suggesting uploading your address book online is tabboo. A large portion of my address book lives in Gmail, so I’m no stranger to the concept. In fact, I’m a fan. The difference is, with Gmail I did so willingly. It wasn’t done so for me or without my consent. Furthermore, I chose WHICH contacts I wanted to backup online. There are some contacts and phone numbers who’s privacy I simply refuse to risk on the Web. Facebook has taken and continues to take liberties on behalf of their users. Their perception of privacy and their users perception of privacy is often very different. I don’t think this is maliciousness on Facebook’s part, but it does show me that Facebook is painfully out of touch with the needs and beliefs of their CORE users, who are still wary of the openness that a Web 2.0 lifestyle entails. It’s their right. Facebook needs to either respect that or openly provide a disclaimer that they do not.
(NOTE: The above post outlines my experience with Facebook Contact Sync and my iPhone. If you are a Blackberry, Palm Pre, Android or other platform user, please leave me a comment bellow outlining your own experience and/or feeling on this subject matter. Much Thanks!)
The Future Of TV: How Google Makes Money With YouTube
In response to Malcolm Galdwell’s review of FREE in The New Yorker, WIRED editor and author Chris Anderson expands on the ways Google makes money from YouTube’s free services. “Google wants you to use the Internet,” says Anderson. “Your actions let Google make more money by selling ads.”
30 Essential iPhone Apps
The iPhone is not a perfect mobile device, but it IS the closest we’ve come to one. And make no mistake, it’s not just the sleek design, quality hardware and gorgeous user interface that makes the iPhone a great piece of technology. It’s mainly the near limitless functionality it offers thanks to the creativity and talent of iPhone App developers. And for many, it is precisely this near limitless functionality that has turned the iPhone into an indispensable companion that makes navigating our digital lives… pleasurable.
This is my list of essential Apps I think EVERY iPhone owner must own, regardless if they are technologically challenged or Über Geek Power Users. It is my humble opinion that these apps make the iPhone so much more than a simple mobile telephone. It’s turns it into your digital assistant.
Free
Skype is an instant messaging client that allows you to make free phone calls to other Skype users as well as land lines and mobile phones*. For now, this app can only make voice calls over WiFi, however Skype will soon update this app to enable calls over EDGE/3G. Text chat with other Skype users works over Edge/3G and WiFi. Skype is an essential app for keeping your phone bills to a minimum when you are traveling or even replacing your home phone for outgoing calls.
Why you need this app: Here is the bottom line: If you remember to use it, you’ll rarely pay for phone calls. Whether at home or at work, you can make calls via Skype for free or in the worst case scenario, for very little. You can avoid high roaming costs when traveling and as long as there is WiFi, you won’t ever have to worry about cellular reception again.
(*Skype charges low rates for calling land lines and mobile phones, however you purchase a subscription (starting €3.95/month) for unlimited free calls to landlines)
$9.99/CHF 11.00
Beejive IM is the ultimate App for anyone who uses instant messaging. Beejive IM allows you to chat with friends on just about ANY platform (AIM/Mobile Me, Google Talk, ICQ, Jabber, MSN/Windows Live, MySpace IM, Yahoo! Messenger, Facebook). This app also has push notification, meaning you can quit the app and it will not only keep you loged in, but alert you if anyone sends you a message via a push notification. Other great features include group chat and the ability to send audio/video notes and pictures. It works over WiFi, 3G and Edge.
Why you need this app: Greatly reduce your dependency on your laptop or desktop computer and access all your IM buddies anywhere, anytime.
$0.99/CHF 1.10
In a nutshell, installing WhatsApp on your iPhone is basically like activating free SMS (on steroids) for your phone. You can send text, audio, video, pictures, contact files and your location to other WhatsApp users and receive message from friends even when the app isn’t running (via push notification). WhatsApp automatically scans your phonebook for other WhatsApp users you know and adds them to your contact list. WhatsApp is the iPhone’s answer to BlackBerry Messenger.
Why you need this app: You’ll never have to pay for an SMS again. In fact, it will completely replace SMS on your phone with something far better.
$4.99/CHF 5.50
Think of 1Password as a well protected secret vault that stores all your user names, passwords, pin numbers, credit card details and other secrets. It can automatically log you in to websites with a single tap and even syncs to a companion desktop app that works your with your web browsers to make loging into websites easier and safer.
Why you need this app: You’ll never need to remember another user name and password again
Free
EverNote turns your iPhone into an extension of your brain, helping you remember anything and everything that happens in your life. From notes, to ideas to snapshots to recordings, you can put it all in EverNote. You can organise your stuff in whatever way you want and use powerful searches that will even recognize handwriting and text in pictures. It syncs to your Mac or PC and securely stores your information in the cloud, making it accessible from your iPhone, computer or Evernote.com.
Why you need this app: EverNote IS the best app to help you remember everything. You simply stop worrying about stuff, because you know its safely stored in EverNote. Combined with a scanner, you can even make your life ENTIRELY paperless.
$2.99/ CHF 3.30
ToodleDo is a powerfull task manager that can help you organize your To Do list and be more productive than ever. Push Notifications can alert you when tasks are due so you’ll never forget a To Do item again. You can use ToodleDo as a stand alone app or you can have it seemlessly sync to Toodledo.com, one of the most popular online task manager around.
Why you need this app: Using a To Do manager really is the best way to insure you are truly getting things done. The organisation gives you the peace of mind that you are always on top of what needs to be done. ToodleDo is the most powerful task manager for the iPhone.
$3.99/CHF 4.40
Byline is one of the best ways to keep up with the news on an iPhone. It’s a powerful news reader that let’s you subscribe to your favorite content and websites via RSS or sync with your Google Reader account. The app also allows you to save news articles directly on your iPhone so you can read them whenever you like, with or without an Internet connection. Byline is fantastic for reading the news on the go.
Why you need this app: Keeping up with the news can be time consuming. Byline is a completely self contained app. You can read the news with it’s built-in web browser, save articles for later and organize your entire news reading experience in one, clean, good looking app.
$4.99/CHF 5.50
iXpenseIt simplifies daily expense tracking and monthly budgeting. With iXpenseIt, you can stay on top of your personal budget and finances, track expenses and get a real sense on where your money is going. You can enter expense data anywhere, anytime within seconds and use powerful reporting features to create expense graphs and more. Combined the with EverNote, you can kiss those shoeboxes full of receipts goodbye.
Why you need this app: Let’s face it, everyone needs a budget. And this is a really convenient way of managing one. You’ll love the peace of mind of always being on top of your finances and you’ll find that the powerful reporting features provides you with real insight into your finances.
Free
Trapster is a powerful app that alerts you when you approach speed traps, red light and speed cameras, police check points and other road and wallet hazards. The Trapster database is user generated, so the information is always current and updated by it’s vibrant and active community. The app comes with lots of excellent features like iPod integration and GPS live tracking. It’s a must for any driver and essentialy turns your iPhone into an advanced radar detector.
Why you need this app: Because you are tired of speeding tickets, of course.
Free
The Facebook App for iPhone has push notifications that can alert you of Facebook Messages, Tags or Comments on your Wall when you are on the go. It also provides a clean interface for reading your news stream. You’ll find that it’s far easier and quicker to check Facebook on your iPhone than it is on your computer.
Why you need this app: Because you spend a lot of time on Facebook and this app, so far, provides the nicest mobile experience around.
$2.99/CHF 3.30
The best looking Twitter client for iPhone. It’s simple, clean and functional user interface is a pleasure to use and has all the features necessary to make this the client of choice for both casual and power user. Only fault: not having push notifications, but Boxcar easily rectifies this.
Why you need this app: Most people hate Twitter because they did not use a great Twitter client. Tweetie 2 makes using Twitter useful.
Europe Only/CHF 5.50
Read the top BBC headlines and watch BBC News live, directly on your iPhone. The app works over Edge, 3G or WiFi.
Why you need it: You are waiting for a plane, bored. You turn on your iPhone and you starting watching the news. Live. Enough said.
$3.99/CHF 4.40
This amazing little weather app provides accurate and detailed weather forecasts for over 800′000 locations worldwide. You can search for any location or let the app figure out where you are via GPS. The app provides hourly and 7 day forecasts, live satellite, radar information and more. This is the best weather app for iPhone.
Why you need this app: Weather Pro lets you figure out if you need an umbrella for later in the afternoon or if you should pack t-shirts or sweaters on your upcoming trip. It’s accurate and provides detailed information.
$6.99/CHF 7.70
Turn your iPhone into a powerful Radio receiver. Listen to virtually any AM/FM radio station from any country or your home FM radio wherever you are in the world. Search and stream radio over Edge, 3G and WiFi and even play it in the background while you use other apps. Wunder Radio even gives you access to Police/Emergency Services scanners and Air Traffic Control frequencies.
Why you need this app: Although you have 32GB of music on your phone, sometimes it’s just really nice to listen to the radio. Especially your home country’s stations when you are abroad.
$0.99/CHF 1.10
If you have trouble sleeping or simply need to focus in a loud and busy environment, Ambiance can help. This app let’s you create mixes from a huge library of sounds, from the relaxing to the distracting. Imagine being able to drowned out the background noise in a busy office or falling asleep to the sounds of the ocean when on a plane.
Why you need this app: Noise has a huge impact on our ability to focus and our sanity. This app enables you to control your auditory environment and can provide a magical secret garden in a concrete jungle.
Free
Get a real answer from an actual human being for any question. Simply launch the app, ask your question and quit. You will be alerted by push notification as soon as it finds someone with an answer on Aardvark. Answers usually take between 2 and 5 minutes.
Why you need this app: Wherever you are, you can get any question answered fast by a real person. For Free. What’s not to like?
Free
WebMD for iPhone can help diagnose your medical problems. Simply enter your symptoms and the app will narrow down the possible causes. The app provides accurate and detailed information with advice on what to do next. (Needless to say, this app doesn’t replace ACTUALLY SEEKING PROFESSIONAL MEDICAL ADVICE)
Why you need this app: Because it could save your life. Or make you worry more. Either way, more information is better than no information.
$0.99/CHF 1.10
It’s like having Photoshop on your iPhone. This simple to use photo editor has all the tools and features you need to drastically improve your iPhone photographs. It also enables you to directly share your photos from within the app.
Why you need this app: Let’s face it, the current camera on the iPhone 3GS is ok. But not great. The iPhone 3G is worse. This app can help retouch and correct your pictures, making them look stunning.
$2.99/CHF 3.30
Take panoramic pictures directly on your iPhone. This app makes it incredibly simple to shoot and share up to 360 degree panoramas. The app uses built-in technology to auto-stich multiple photos to create stunning panoramas.
Why you need this app: This app further increases the capability of your iPhone to take great pictures.
Free
Read It Later lets you save websites or news articles on your computer to read later on your iPhone or from a reading list on the web. The iPhone app syncs with your laptop and can locally store all items so you can access them on your iPhone with or without an internet connection. The built-in web browsers means you can read all your saved items without ever leaving the app.
Why you need this app: Sometimes you come accross great stuff, but you simply don’t have time to read it. This great app lets you save anything to read later, on your phone or computer.
Free
Hear a song on the Radio but don’t know what it’s called or who sings it? Simply launch Shazam on your iPhone and place your phone near the speaker. Shazam will identify the song for you, point you to where you can buy it online, give you a link to a YouTube video or let you tag it for later.
Why you need this app: Nothing is more annoying that having a song in your head but not knowing what it is. Shazam will help you discover a lot of great new music and remind you to add it to your collection when you get home.
Free
Read and download the latest books directly from Amazon.com on to your iPhone. Yes, the screen is a little small, but this app makes reading books on the iPhone a pretty good experience. It will even remember where you stoped reading last.
Why you need this app: If you are a book lover, having access to thousands of books directly on your phone is pretty amazing.
Free
A very cool Scrabble type game that lets you play with your friends over the Internet. Works with Wifi, 3G and Edge and even uses push notifications to alert you when it’s your turn to play. You can play at your own pace. A game could lasts hours or days.
Why you need this app: A realy great game that will improve your vocabulary and let you play with friends over the Internet.
$0.99/CHF 1.10
This is simply the most addictive iPhone game ever created. Jump on platforms, avoid bad guys and beat your friends scores.
Why you need this app: Bored? Waiting in line? At the gate but your plane still isn’t boarding? This is the ultimate play anytime/anywhere minimum commitment iPhone game. You can learn it in seconds and spend the next 6 months mastering it.
Free
DropBox is a simple online virtual storage utility that allows you to make your files accessible from almost anywhere. Designed for those who are tired of e-mailing files to themselves and carrying around flash drives, DropBox revolutionizes the way you store and share files.
Why you need this app: It will make it incredibly simple for you to share and manage files across multiple devices (computers, phones) and makes a great document (most formats) reader for your iPhone.
$9.99/CHF 11.00
FitnessBuilder is one of the most powerful fitness apps on the iPhone. You can create and track your own exercises and routines or browse the built-in library containing thousands of exercises and professionally designed routines (with video). FitnessBuilder lets you track you weight, measurments and your excersise progress. It’s a really powerfull app for gym rats of all levels.
Why you need this app: Let’s you manage your entire gym experience in the palm of your hand and track your progress for real results.
$1.99/CHF 2.20
Convertbot is a unit conversion tool that helps you convert just about anything, like currency, sizes, lengths, weights, etc… It has a stunningly beautiful interface and is incredibly simple to use.
Why you need this app: The currency converter alone is reason enough. But believe me, you’ll be surprised how many times this app can come in handy.
$2.99/CHF 3.30
Pastebot is a devilishly simple idea. It basically syncs your copy/paste clipboard between computer and your iPhone. It’s a great little tool when you just want to quickly copy paste something from your iPhone to your computer or vice-versa. You can do it with text, pictures or videos.
Why you need this app: This app is very versatile and it has a 100 uses. You can use it to add custom signatures when emailing from your iPhone and it really is the best way to quickly get a snippet of information like text, links or pictures between your computer and your iPhone.
$4.99/CHF 5.50
It’s Monopoly, for iPhone. You can play against the computer or your friends via Wi-Fi/Bluetooth. This game is great to have when you are with friends, because you can use just one iPhone and pass it around. Great for after dinner fun.
Why you need this app: Because it’s fun and social. And it’s Monopoly!
$0.99/CHF 1.10
Sleep Cycle is an alarm clock that analyses your movements while you sleep. Tell it when you want to wake up, and it will use the data it collects to wake you up at the best possible time (Whithin a 30 minute window of your set wake up time). It will also provide you with data on how you slept.
Why you need this app: You will wake up feeling rested and refreshed. You can even use the readings to see if you are getting enough sleep or to figure out if something is keeping you up at night.
