Close
  • Latest News
  • Artificial Intelligence
  • Video
  • Big Data and Analytics
  • Cloud
  • Networking
  • Cybersecurity
  • Applications
  • IT Management
  • Storage
  • Sponsored
  • Mobile
  • Small Business
  • Development
  • Database
  • Servers
  • Android
  • Apple
  • Innovation
  • Blogs
  • PC Hardware
  • Reviews
  • Search Engines
  • Virtualization
Read Down
Sign in
Close
Welcome!Log into your account
Forgot your password?
Read Down
Password recovery
Recover your password
Close
Search
Logo
Logo
  • Latest News
  • Artificial Intelligence
  • Video
  • Big Data and Analytics
  • Cloud
  • Networking
  • Cybersecurity
  • Applications
  • IT Management
  • Storage
  • Sponsored
  • Mobile
  • Small Business
  • Development
  • Database
  • Servers
  • Android
  • Apple
  • Innovation
  • Blogs
  • PC Hardware
  • Reviews
  • Search Engines
  • Virtualization
More
    Home Applications
    • Applications
    • Development
    • PC Hardware

    Facebook Disconnects Google’s Friend Finder

    Written by

    Clint Boulton
    Published May 16, 2008
    Share
    Facebook
    Twitter
    Linkedin

      eWEEK content and product recommendations are editorially independent. We may make money when you click on links to our partners. Learn More.

      You have been measured. You have been weighed. And you have been found wanting.

      That’s more or less what Facebook said in banning Google’s Friend Connect social widget service, which launched to developers as a preview May 12, just days after Facebook announced a more amorphous data portability move May 9.

      Friend Connect aims to let Web site owners add a snippet of code to their Web sites to add user registration, invitations, member galleries, message posting and reviews. The idea is that site owners can socialize their site to boost stickiness.

      Facebook engineer Charlie Cheever said in a May 15 blog post that after testing Friend Connect, Facebook found that it redistributes user information from Facebook to other developers without users’ knowledge, which is a gross violation of the company’s privacy rules.

      “Just as we’ve been forced to do for other applications that redistribute data in a way users might not expect or understand, we’ve had to suspend Friend Connect’s access to Facebook user information until it comes into compliance,” Cheever wrote.

      He went on to explain that Facebook officials tried multiple times to reach out to Google to get it to comply, but so far no luck. Facebook wants to get this sorted out before it launches Connect, its own effort to allow users to move Facebook content to other sites on the Internet.

      Facebook Slaps, Google Doesn’t Blink

      Facebook’s move is a competitive slap in the face to Google as it works to rush its own data portability service out the door after MySpace beat both rivals to the punch with an impressive-looking Data Availability effort.

      Google hardly blinked in response, as if it were expecting such a move from Facebook. The company refuted Facebook’s claims and said it was disappointed in Facebook’s suspension of Friend Connect.

      “We never handle passwords from other sites, we never store social graph data from other sites, and we never pass users’ social network IDs to Friend Connected sites or applications,” a company spokesperson told eWEEK May 15.

      Specifically, Google said a third-party app has access to a user’s Friend Connect ID, which is a number, not a name; a name that a user entered into Friend Connect; a user photo (only if users choose to make that photo public on a site); and the Google Friend Connect IDs of any of a user’s friends who are also members of a Friend Connected site.

      “These apps have no knowledge of who these friends are. They have no access to additional profile data-yours or your friends’. No idea who else is on your friends’ list on your social network,” the Google spokesperson said.

      Facebook Courting User Disdain

      Facebook’s move won’t be looked at kindly by the largely open-source data portability community. After all, it has a tarry history of finding and suspending applications passing user data to another party.

      Blogger Robert Scoble was booted from Facebook in January after he used a data import feature from Plaxo Pulse to import names, e-mail addresses and birthdays. He was later reinstated unceremoniously by Facebook after he explained what happened.

      But that was one well-liked blogger. Now Facebook must contend with the legion of developers who want to test Friend Connect by leveraging their Facebook data.

      Moreover, if there wasn’t a rift between Google and Facebook before, there certainly is one now. Google won’t look kindly on being kneecapped by the brash startup.

      Clint Boulton
      Clint Boulton

      Get the Free Newsletter!

      Subscribe to Daily Tech Insider for top news, trends & analysis

      Get the Free Newsletter!

      Subscribe to Daily Tech Insider for top news, trends & analysis

      MOST POPULAR ARTICLES

      Artificial Intelligence

      9 Best AI 3D Generators You Need...

      Sam Rinko - June 25, 2024 0
      AI 3D Generators are powerful tools for many different industries. Discover the best AI 3D Generators, and learn which is best for your specific use case.
      Read more
      Cloud

      RingCentral Expands Its Collaboration Platform

      Zeus Kerravala - November 22, 2023 0
      RingCentral adds AI-enabled contact center and hybrid event products to its suite of collaboration services.
      Read more
      Artificial Intelligence

      8 Best AI Data Analytics Software &...

      Aminu Abdullahi - January 18, 2024 0
      Learn the top AI data analytics software to use. Compare AI data analytics solutions & features to make the best choice for your business.
      Read more
      Latest News

      Zeus Kerravala on Networking: Multicloud, 5G, and...

      James Maguire - December 16, 2022 0
      I spoke with Zeus Kerravala, industry analyst at ZK Research, about the rapid changes in enterprise networking, as tech advances and digital transformation prompt...
      Read more
      Video

      Datadog President Amit Agarwal on Trends in...

      James Maguire - November 11, 2022 0
      I spoke with Amit Agarwal, President of Datadog, about infrastructure observability, from current trends to key challenges to the future of this rapidly growing...
      Read more
      Logo

      eWeek has the latest technology news and analysis, buying guides, and product reviews for IT professionals and technology buyers. The site’s focus is on innovative solutions and covering in-depth technical content. eWeek stays on the cutting edge of technology news and IT trends through interviews and expert analysis. Gain insight from top innovators and thought leaders in the fields of IT, business, enterprise software, startups, and more.

      Facebook
      Linkedin
      RSS
      Twitter
      Youtube

      Advertisers

      Advertise with TechnologyAdvice on eWeek and our other IT-focused platforms.

      Advertise with Us

      Menu

      • About eWeek
      • Subscribe to our Newsletter
      • Latest News

      Our Brands

      • Privacy Policy
      • Terms
      • About
      • Contact
      • Advertise
      • Sitemap
      • California – Do Not Sell My Information

      Property of TechnologyAdvice.
      © 2024 TechnologyAdvice. All Rights Reserved

      Advertiser Disclosure: Some of the products that appear on this site are from companies from which TechnologyAdvice receives compensation. This compensation may impact how and where products appear on this site including, for example, the order in which they appear. TechnologyAdvice does not include all companies or all types of products available in the marketplace.

      ×