Facebook Starts Sharing Your Home Address, Phone Number With Developers

[highplainsdem]

Source: Huffington Post

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).

-snip-

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.

-snip-

Read more: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/01/17/facebook-home-address_n_809901.html

[CC]

1. They can only do that if you

give them your home address and phone number in the first place. I haven't seen anywhere that it is required on FB nor would I give it to them. Most online places don't get my number or address.

[Ex Lurker]

9. they don't have mine nt.

[Trajan]

29. Thats very nice ..

But many kids use FB, and they are not quite as intelligent and savvy as you are ...

Maybe we should look into protecting them, even when they are too ignorant to protect themselves ....

[CC]

32. Most kids I know

know better. Sure some kids, young adults and even older adults don't seem to know not too or just don't care. Around here it seems to lean heavily toward not caring. Just like TV, it is up to the user to be informed, use it or not use it and if it is a minor depend on parental controls/lessons. There is no one forcing people to use the privately operated sites against their will. Just like TVs have an off switch so do computers, phones,etc. As long as they are up front on what they are doing so I can make an informed decision for me and my kids. Now to not let the users know a head of time is a whole different matter and something to watch out for.

I do not believe the world should have to adjust to the lowest common denominator.

[cherokeeprogressive]

2. Facebook doesn't HAVE my home address or phone number. n/t

[ProSense]

3. Evidently,

privacy isn't all that that important.

[jobycom]

4. I've heard that Facebook is forming a secret army and has spies on all other web sites

so that they can immediately identify the non-conformists when the Revolution comes. Zuckerberg will be God. Either you embrace that fact, or you face the ZuckenRangers.

[donco]

5. There is a pretty good chance that someone already has it.

Type your name into this link, if you see your name in their and don’t want it there,just go to the lower right corner to the privacy tab.Just follow directions and it will be gone.

http://www.spokeo.com/

[yourout]

7. Neat link.....3 of me in Florida and I am sitting here freezing my ass off.

Think I need to join the rest of me/s in the Sunshine State.

[KamaAina]

33. They have 3 of me back in Hawai'i, but not the present incarnation

also, I discovered a second doppelganger, in Ohio. (The first is in Oklahoma.)

edit: It probably helps that I have no land line.

[Ex Lurker]

25. they don't have me

and I didn't do anything to opt out. I must be under the radar.

[klook]

26. Great tip - thanks.

FYI - They limit your use of one email address for verification to 2 listings. I would highly recommend using a forwarding email address. If you need to get rid of more than 2 listings, you can create multiple forwarding addresses.

[dixiegrrrrl]

34. Wow..it says my house is worth ..a lot!!!!!

Bet the tax assessor will be surprised to hear that.

[marginlized]

6. whitepages.com has them all anyway n/t

[Skittles]

11. doesn't have mine

[solara]

8. Why would anyone put their home address and/or phone or any personal info on FB?

The white pages info isn't all that accurate either, actually - just don't ever update it.

:patriot:

[TheEuclideanOne]

10. Some folks have the crazy notion that we have a right to privacy

Did you really just ask why anybody would put personal info in Facebook? I am guessing that you don't use it.

[vi5]

23. I use Facebook and I don't understand why either...

It's not required as part of registration. So why willingly put it in if you don't have to? And if you decide to, why would you be surprised if they use or sell that data.

We all absolutely do have a right to privacy. We also have a right not to use sites that violate it if we don't want to, and we also have the right to use the site without putting our phone numbers and address into it.

I mean unless they've changed the registration requirements since I signed up a few years ago. In which case the statement still stands that nobody HAS to use Facebook if they're concerned about it.

[solara]

28. Hear, hear eom

[solara]

27. I am on FB.. but I don't have any personal info listed eom.

[Ex Lurker]

12. some people us FB for business contacts

there are legitimate reasons why someone may want to put their contact info on there. It's not mandatory and if you don't want to you don't have to. Too many people don't put any thought into how much personal data they allow.

[Kablooie]

13. I've never put any personal information on FB except my name and school.

The school is there so old friends can find me.

All the rest is bogus stuff I keep around for folks to muse over.

[mackerel]

14. It amazes me what people openly put on their FB.

I've seen people actually put their email addy, their full name, the town they live in, I wouldn't be surprised at all if people put their home address on FB.

[Ex Lurker]

16. I have a friend who's posting updates from the family ski vacation

which basically tells the whole world that no one's home this week at the family casa.

[FreeState]

15. Good now my syncing apps will work better

I use several apps that sync my address book with Facebook - it gives me their name and picture, I have to go and fill the other in by hand, now I won't have to update my families address etc everytime it changes (I only share my home address with my Family on Facebook).

[NYC Liberal]

17. "Facebook Users Can Choose to Share Home Address, Phone Number With Developers"

Fixed the headline.

[Art_from_Ark]

18. My Fbook avatar is Pennywhistle the Clown

My hobbies are collecting dryer lint and raising tarantulas. I like heavy metal and Lawrence Welk music. I graduated from high school in 1998 and I am 48 years old. I can hardly wait to see what kind of junk e-mail that profile gets me :bounce:

[EFerrari]

19. That's sort of beautiful.

:rofl:

[SkyDaddy7]

20. If folks really wanted to hurt Goldman Sachs...

Could use this as a means to get folks to delete their Facebook accounts & sour their 500 million dollar investment...Yeah right!

Of course you would have to use Twitter to do it! LOL!

[vi5]

24. It's really only a matter of time...

Remember when Myspace was the big social networking site and everyone used it and Newscorp dropped some insane amount of money on it? Only to have it go bust and be useless when everyone moved over to Facebook? It's only a matter of time before something better comes along.

[SkyDaddy7]

30. True...We will see.

[OKNancy]

21. Facebook U-turns on phone and address data sharing

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-12214628

[dipsydoodle]

22. Thanks for that.

:thumbsup:

[Kablooie]

31. I once had to discipline my 12 year old daughter and she wrote it up on her blog ...

the next day my mother called and chastised me for being so mean to my daughter.