Ok. We have a huge, detail-free set of accusations here, in a high-profile newspaper blogspam whose source link doesn't link to an actual story, only to the home page of the publication it's referencing.
Especially, too, since you cannot do this on iOS with public API's (and I assume even with private, but I could be wrong). Even if you did find a loophole, Apple wouldn't allow it, and they'd close it.
And even on Android, don't you have to enable an app's access to your SMS messages?
This article had no details. It was way too short for the accusations made.
Exactly, This reminds me of the whole Tesla battery bricking saga. The News outlets love nothing more than to find some technology company that is doing something "wrong" (even if they are not) and hang them out to dry without doing ANY fact checking. It seems many news organizations have stooped to the level of celebrity gossip magazines.
I want to see proof of texts being sent back to Facebook or it did not happen.
What we need to see is proof that somehow the contents of the text message is sent back to facebook.
There are tools like mitmproxy to see the traffic. Couldn't someone with a facebook account using the app explicitly check whether or not the contents of the messages are relayed back?
I'm going to note that ZDNet got a reply from Facebook that completely denies the claim. The article in question was making the claim based on the permissions that Facebook requests on Android, and not actual evidence.
Although bogus, maybe this story has some benefit then. Perhaps app developers will stop asking for the kitchen sink, so permissions are remotely useful again.
I have an app (Prey) on my android phone that does have SMS access (to check for "trigger" texts to enable tracking). When I first installed the app (and every few months subsequently), I've been prompted to allow the app access to my incoming SMSs.
Facebook has never caused that prompt to come up.
Assuming FB aren't doing anything really weird, I think it's fair to say that the Facebook android app on my phone doesn't have access to my texts.
This is true [1], but part of that is because Android allows you to use whatever text messaging app you want rather than forcing you to use the one provided. And of course, this is a permission that you have to agree to [2].
Seems like the only evidence they have is application permissions and an unspecified 'admission' from Facebook (who?), while according to zdnet, Facebook denies ever accessing user text messages: http://www.zdnet.com/blog/btl/facebook-youtube-others-accuse...
Brought to you by the company that spied on peoples phone calls for years. Facebook may or may not be doing what News actually got caught red handed doing.
See these piratey Internet companies are evil; buy more gossip sheets now. Find out which celebrities may or may not be doing it and why global warming is a lefty conspiracy. Read all about it!
Just FYI, if you have a rooted Android phone and install the free application "LBE Privacy Guard", you can block apps from accessing your SMS store, even if they've been granted permissions. I believe that by default it displays an empty SMS store to such apps. It does loads of similar things.
[+] [-] mortenjorck|14 years ago|reply
We're going to need a lot more here.
[+] [-] alexobenauer|14 years ago|reply
Especially, too, since you cannot do this on iOS with public API's (and I assume even with private, but I could be wrong). Even if you did find a loophole, Apple wouldn't allow it, and they'd close it.
And even on Android, don't you have to enable an app's access to your SMS messages?
This article had no details. It was way too short for the accusations made.
[+] [-] kenrikm|14 years ago|reply
I want to see proof of texts being sent back to Facebook or it did not happen.
[+] [-] veyron|14 years ago|reply
There are tools like mitmproxy to see the traffic. Couldn't someone with a facebook account using the app explicitly check whether or not the contents of the messages are relayed back?
[+] [-] Shank|14 years ago|reply
http://www.zdnet.com/blog/btl/facebook-youtube-others-accuse...
[+] [-] lawnchair_larry|14 years ago|reply
[+] [-] leoedin|14 years ago|reply
Facebook has never caused that prompt to come up.
Assuming FB aren't doing anything really weird, I think it's fair to say that the Facebook android app on my phone doesn't have access to my texts.
[+] [-] Turing_Machine|14 years ago|reply
[+] [-] mdwrigh2|14 years ago|reply
[1]: https://developer.apple.com/library/ios/#documentation/UserE...
[2]: http://developer.android.com/reference/android/Manifest.perm...
[+] [-] mike-cardwell|14 years ago|reply
[+] [-] fractalcat|14 years ago|reply
[+] [-] shirro|14 years ago|reply
See these piratey Internet companies are evil; buy more gossip sheets now. Find out which celebrities may or may not be doing it and why global warming is a lefty conspiracy. Read all about it!
[+] [-] jschuur|14 years ago|reply
[+] [-] artursapek|14 years ago|reply
[+] [-] mike-cardwell|14 years ago|reply
[+] [-] unknown|14 years ago|reply
[deleted]
[+] [-] Shank|14 years ago|reply
[+] [-] Iroiso|14 years ago|reply
[+] [-] gst|14 years ago|reply
Most of its users don't care about their own privacy, so why should Facebook care about it's users privacy?