cross-posted from: https://lemmy.dbzer0.com/post/17617609

They supposedly can be disabled in settings- but we all know that won’t last. They’re going full Microsoft Skype mode and it’s only a matter of time.

    • dan@upvote.au
      2·
      9 months ago

      never allowed 3rd party apps

      Facebook used to allow third party apps (e.g. Snaptu started as a third-party app before the acquisition) and exposed most of the functionality via their API, but it’s not really a thing any more after Cambridge Analytica - the API was locked down significantly. You can’t really have it both ways… Allowing third-party apps also allows those apps to scrape and store user info, which is what Cambridge Analytica did.

        • dan@upvote.au
          1·
          9 months ago

          Accessing an API is not scraping.

          I probably used the wrong words… What I meant is that given API access, a malicious third-party can gather a large amount of data and store it in a way that goes against the service’s terms of service, without the proper privacy guarantees (e.g. user data being deleted if they delete their account). Obviously that’s a problem for a social network where people can post a lot of friends-only posts.