Facebook Starts Sharing Your Home Address, Phone Number With Developers (UPDATED)

UPDATE: Facebook announced in a blog post published Tuesday at 2:25AM that it would be suspending the new feature that allowed third-party developers to access the home addresses and phone numbers of its users. Read more here.

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Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg has said that his company's mission is to "make the world more open and connected."

The quest for greater openness now involves sharing Facebook users' home addresses and mobile phone numbers with the third-party developers that create Facebook apps.

In other words, a Facebook app can now access your address and phone number, though that application or website can only obtain this information if you explicitly grant it permission to do so (see screenshot below).

Facebook quietly announced this controversial new policy in a blog post published Friday at 9:00PM.

The world's largest social network has struggled with privacy issues, and the change is likely to rankle users who fear their personal information is being shared more widely than they would like, potentially putting them at risk for spamming, identity theft, and more.

Sophos, an Internet security firm, warned in a blog post that the change could "herald a new level of danger for Facebook users."

Sophos explains, "Now, shady app developers will find it easier than ever before to gather even more personal information from users. You can imagine, for instance, that bad guys could set up a rogue app that collects mobile phone numbers and then uses that information for the purposes of SMS spamming or sells on the data to cold-calling companies. The ability to access users' home addresses will also open up more opportunities for identity theft, combined with the other data that can already be extracted from Facebook users' profiles."

On the other hand, All Facebook points out that the switch may save users time when they register for new websites and online services: "Rather than having to fill out the information over and over with each new application that you install, the social network enables users to accomplish the exact same thing in a matter of clicks."

Facebook's post concerning the new policy received considerable criticism from commenters.

"I dont think any developer needs this information from their users and Facebook should stop this ASAP as this will only bring in government heat on you for this," Facebook user John Sweeney Jr. wrote.

Another commenter, Tony Mazan, wrote, "Before you even consider implementing this very intrusive feature, Facebook needs to stop the scammers from making rogue applications and scamming people, my advice now to everyone on facebook will be to remove their numbers and block any application that requires these details, Facebook is going a step to far [sic] with this!!!!!!!!!!"

A Facebook spokesperson told the Guardian:

On Facebook you have absolute control over what information you share, who you share it with and when you want to remove it. Developers can now request permission to access a person's address and mobile phone number to make applications built on Facebook more useful and efficient. You need to explicitly choose to share your data before any app or website can access it and no private information is shared without your permission. As an additional step for this new feature, you're not able to share your friends' address or mobile information.

Those wary of having their address and phone number shared with Facebook app developers may find the best course of action to remove this information from their Facebook profiles.

Comments

[politics nerd]

12:48 PM on 01/18/2011

who would be stupid enough to put their address and phone number on facebook in the first place?

[PenFighter]

01:19 PM on 01/18/2011

I think it's mostly irrelevant. With all the cross-linking they do through the ad-tracking networks, then can just get it from somewhere you DO enter it.

[Leviathan21]

01:27 AM on 01/19/2011

Yep. And that's why people should never use FB to log into other sites. And, most importantly, never leave yourself logged into FB, while you're browsing other sites.

[gamblerman]

12:13 PM on 01/18/2011

Why Facebook sucks:

Facebook Murder:

http://thedailyminute.wordpress.com/2010/06/16/my-adventures-at-facebook/

Thank you!

M

[TheaterAdvisor]

12:10 PM on 01/18/2011

It is not a s big a deal as you are all making it out to be. All you have to do is ,limit the info you post to FB and then control your privacy settings and no one will see anything. Get over it and join the 21st century. If someone wants to know everything about you it is very easy to look up on the internet. Most of the info you are afraid of sharing is in public records anyhow.

[PenFighter]

11:13 AM on 01/19/2011

Read up on tracking cookies and ad networks. If there are doubleclick ads on FB, they get some data from you there, then you go somewhere else that uses doubleclick ads, and they have access to data they collect on that site as well. Piece it together, and...

[vrndavan]

10:42 AM on 01/18/2011

OK, Zuckerburg is really starting to look like a do*^chebag. If it weren't for my addiction to FB, I'd cut them off right away...I think I need an Intervention! Perhaps the Winklevoss twins do have some validation to their allegations.

[Harvee Wallbanger]

10:34 AM on 01/18/2011

That kid is trying real hard to find some way to profit from people's private information. I think he will find a way to do it so that nobody knows.

[PenFighter]

11:53 AM on 01/18/2011

To profit still MORE from other people's information, you mean. I'm beginning to think that the constant teases that "we may compromise your privacy" are akin to the magician's distracting hand, the one that draws your attention while the other one does the business.

They don't even need to steal your info actively. The various tracking sites (doubleclick etc) manage proper spread of their ads across the sites you visit by knowing which ads they displayed on other doubleclick sites. Obviously, this can also be used for targeting. Since they manage which ads you see, they can mark ads that get a click and give you more like that, or use psychologically profiling ads and see which you click. As major advertisers, they get access to in-depth tracking graphs, patterns, terms from your searches and FB postings that they can use to build further tailoring. But of course! What advertiser wouldn't want that?

But at what cost? If you ever apply for a job with a company that has that depth of market data on you, where do you think they look first?

[Michaela Bauer]

10:03 AM on 01/18/2011

As a response to some of the comments.. you still can have a full life IRL and still have an active profile on facebook with people you don't get the see normally.. like from other countries and such... but how they handle private information is really, really worrysome.. same as with the android apps.. why does a game need my GPS info?

[childeharr]

08:28 AM on 01/18/2011

I don't understand why there seems to a systematic demonizing of Facebook and its founder, Mark Zuckerberg. Even the idiotic "biographical" film smacked of the piling on treatment that the American media gives to so many public figures. There are many problems with Facebook, as there are with EVERY COMPANY IN AMERICA. But, the day-in, day-out Facebook is evil mantra is laughable and in several ways hypocritical. Facebook usage is VOLUNTARY. Facebook is not a utility. It doesn't provide inimitable transportation services to and from your job. It doesn't even cost anything to use on a regular basis. When you give Facebook information, you are telling them 'I want to use your service, and you can do what you want with what I have provided.' It's a free social networking site. If you choose to provide the level of information that some provide to this internet-based service, so be it. What is the constant complaint about? Where is the evil? Zuckerberg is not the man behind the black curtain. He's just a guy who provides people with a service they like to use, who has to make money for providing this free service, some way some how. That means he has to "sell" something too, doesn't it? Furthermore, it's extremely hypocritical that so many media sites (including this one) demonize Facebook, yet, continuously provide their users with "links" to Facebook. Should I be worried? Is HuffPo also selling my info to Facebook for nefarious reasons?

[kevinmsieg]

08:22 AM on 01/18/2011

I am probably one of the only people I know who doesn't have a Facebook profile. Not because Im afraid of my life being put out there for the world to see or that my personal information will somehow get out to some nefarious people but rather because I simple have a life and don't have time to spend my valuable time posting my every step online. I know people that live half their exsistence on Facebook and twitter and MySpace.

The boy genious also doesn't impress me at all. He's quite frankly been put into a position of power having half the populations (or more) life at his fingertips. This is a great and unique power and responsability that I do not trust Zuckerberg to use responsibly. I think if he ever goes public the government should do what it unfortunately does best...step in and oversee his use of all the data he has access to.

[vrndavan]

10:46 AM on 01/18/2011

We all have lives to live kevinmsieg, don't be offensive and grand about your not having an account with FB. No one can predict what Zuckerberg is up to. But I can tell you this, his FB is going to make a mighty big crash when it falls. And btw, you don't have the time to play on FB, but do so for HP?

[Ramon Moreno]

05:16 PM on 01/18/2011

Yeah, yeah, blah, blah, you, you, you.

[pepimartinez]

08:13 AM on 01/18/2011

Facebook isn't sharing the information, you're putting the information up into your account, and allowing it to be shown on facebook OR you're giving an app/game/chance to win a new Wii every hour access to your personal information.

If you don't want something public, don't put it on facebook.

[GirlInNYC]

08:10 AM on 01/18/2011

A little bad publicity and a 'change of heart'. Awww. How nice.

[rutroGeorge]

07:58 AM on 01/18/2011

In one day, they probably gleaned all the info their shadow companies needed to keep 'em robo-mailing and calling for years. And just as upsetting is that FB even allowed it to happen for however long they did; no scruples.
The fact 1 in 5 people in the world (or was it in just this country, either way ominous) are hooked up to this debacle, well, can you say Cyberterrorism?!

[miles120]

07:38 AM on 01/18/2011

This smacks of ideological agenda. People might want to keep an eye on the Diaspora project.

https://joindiaspora.com/

[Ed C Atlanta]

07:28 AM on 01/18/2011

While many may have facebook accounts and feel a need to be connected with the world, I for one have not succumbed to that need, for fear of just what is going to happen to people's personal information,, if you post your most personal infoormation on a site of this nature,when bad things happen,,it is your own fault for sharing that info with the world,,,

Good luck all of you facebook posters,,,

[Ramon Moreno]

05:26 PM on 01/18/2011

Thanks. I think it will be fine.

[Ramkshrestha]

07:20 AM on 01/18/2011

Another competitor in the Global market.

[Donns]

07:19 AM on 01/18/2011

I cannot understand why any rational logical person would put any information out there on Facebook or anything similar. This is just inviting problems. There's some weird people out there.

[Ramon Moreno]

05:27 PM on 01/18/2011

what are you wearing