Facebook Blinks On Data-Sharing Feature

Facebook is all about sharing, but in the case of a new feature allowing app developers to access addresses and phone numbers of users, it may be been a case of too much information.

The social Website said it has "temporarily disabled" the feature, introduced late last week amid clouds of controversy. Facebook said it based its decision on negative reaction from users.

Facebook maintained from the start there were sufficient security and privacy safeguards in the feature. Before a developer could access a member's data, that member had to give permission. But security experts worried that too many users pay too little attention to what they are clicking on, and could grant permission without really thinking it through.

Pushing the boundaries of privacy

"Facebook has been pushing the boundaries of privacy for a long time, but despite the uproar, few in the community have abandoned the service," Chesster Wisniewski, a security analyst for Sophos Security, writes in his blog. "It is great news that Facebook is responding to the outrage about this recent change, but I wonder if most users will be satisfied with their eventual solution."

Wisniewski says the best solution would be to permit users to provide their personal data, using a dropdown or checkbox, when they choose to add an application.

"Users who want the convenience that Facebook is offering should be able to choose to share their information, but those of us who are more security conscious should be able to opt out and elect to type it in when necessary," he writes.

Possibility of abuse

Other security experts raised the possibility the new feature could be abused, with developers tricking users into downloading their apps. And in fact, a growing number of scammers have used Facebook to trick users into clicking links and downloading malware, exposing them and their friends to a steady stream of spam.

Facebook said the benefits of the feature, as originally intended, including streamlining the checkout process or allowing you to sign up for alerts sent to your mobile phone.

"As with the other information you share through our permissions process, you need to explicitly choose to share this data before any application or website can access it, and you can not share your friends' address or mobile number with applications," the company said in a post on its developers blog.

"We are making changes to help ensure you only share this information when you intend to do so," a company spokesman said.