Updated: Facebook is giving users more security and control over how much data third-party applications can collect and share.
Facebook has launched more changes intended to improve
privacy, this time focusing on tightening controls determining how
applications collect and share data.
"The majority of people on Facebook actively interact with applications
and Facebook-integrated Websites every month,"
Facebook CTO Bret Taylor
wrote on the company's blog. "In order for these applications and Websites
to provide social and customized experiences, they need to know a little bit
about you ...With this new authorization process, when you log into an
application with your Facebook account, the application will only be able to
access the public parts of your profile by default. To access the private
sections of your profile, the application has to explicitly ask for your
permission."
The new permissions box pops up whenever users install a new application or
first log into an external Website with a Facebook account. As before, all
authorized applications
can
access basic information, including a user's name, profile picture, gender
and networks, Taylor noted.
"This is
information
that is publicly available on Facebook to make it easy for your friends to
find you, and in this case, to help you get started quickly with applications,"
he wrote. "You can always control which information you want to keep
private through your
privacy
settings page, and you can remove applications from your
application settings page at
any time. You can also control which information your friends can share with
the applications they use."
According to Facebook, the company allowed developers to start migrating to
the new data permissions model in April. The site is now finalizing the
rollout, and within a few weeks all applications and integrations will follow
the new model, a spokesperson said.
In May, Facebook announced that it was revamping its settings to simplify
privacy controls.
Privacy
advocates had both praise and criticism for the efforts, leading some to
present a six-point proposal as to
how
Facebook could improve security.
The latest changes reflect two core Facebook beliefs, Taylor
wrote. One, user data belongs to the user; and two, it should be easy for
users to control what they share.
"If at any point you ask a developer to remove the data you've granted
them access to, we require that that they delete this information," he
wrote.
Editor's Note: This
story was updated with more information from Facebook.
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