How Facebook Tracks Your Ovulation and Heart Rate Through Apps

cageymaru

cageymaru

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The Wall Street Journal is reporting that apps are sending sensitive information to Facebook through the Facebook SDK. The Facebook SDK makes it easy for app writers to share information with Facebook through a built-in analytics service called "App Events." 17.6% of the apps on Apple's App Store and 25.4% of the apps on the Google Play Store use the Facebook SDK. These apps are collecting your data to "allow apps to better understand their users' behavior or to collect data to sell targeted advertising." Facebook says it didn't know that health information was being collected and shared as this is violates their policies. Facebook collects the information for market research and advertising campaigns. Users do not even need a Facebook account for their information to be shared with the social media giant.

Some of the apps analyzed by The Wall Street Journal shared information such as weight, height, women's period, length of cycle, ovulation, heart rate, when women desire to get pregnant, location and prices of home listings; including which were marked as favorites. Other information shared include; unique advertising identifier that can be matched to a device or profile, email address, which part of the body a person has issues with in regards to weight loss and many other interactions. Within seconds of entering information into an app, Facebook is sent a copy of the information. "Facebook can often match that data with actual Facebook users."

Facebook said some of the data sharing uncovered by the Journal's testing appeared to violate its business terms, which instruct app developers not to send it "health, financial information or other categories of sensitive information." Facebook said it is telling apps flagged by the Journal to stop sending information its users might regard as sensitive. The company said it may take additional action if the apps don't comply. "We require app developers to be clear with their users about the information they are sharing with us," a Facebook spokeswoman said. She said Facebook automatically deletes some sensitive data it might receive, such as Social Security numbers.
 
The CNBC article doesn't tackle the WSJ article properly. I hope everyone can read the WSJ article.

I tried my best to "outline" the issues, but there are many more examples in the article.
 
CONGRESS needs to act and make a 21st century privacy law your personal data (this includes genetic and health data) is yours and you should have complete control of every aspect of your data and no company can compel it by any means
 
The SDK is _their software_ and the capabilities are defined by them. It clearly enables this and their testing was insufficient to ensure it didn't violate their TOS.

Biznatch said:
It's not their software software tracking/sending your data it's 3rd party apps doing that and using facebooks SDK.......
Click to expand...
 
That $$$ just keeps rolling in the more they ignore/hide/pretend to care/ about these "issues". This is exactly what they want it to do. Skirt that "unacceptable/illegal" line as closely as possible. Even the fines are worth paying in most cases.
 
Apps can only steal info that you give it. Maybe the problem isn't Facebook. Maybe the problem is you are giving apps personal information.
 
I don't really blame FB for this. The App owners are mostly to blame. They chose to use the FB SDK. They agreed to the TOS, EULA and PP attached to said SDK. They either didn't understand or bother to turn off the 'share all data with FB' settings when they developed the app. Given all of the publicity about FB's data hoovering, hard to think the app developers weren't at least aware that anything FB might be sending data to FB. Makes you wonder what other security issues those apps have.
 
cageymaru said:
"allow apps to better understand their users' behavior or to collect data to sell targeted advertising." Facebook says it didn't know that health information was being collected and shared as this is violates their policies.
Click to expand...

since when is Facebook's "policies" the Law?
 
I used to work with startups a lot (making mobile apps). Free SDK's like this are gold to these small companies. They need all the potential revenue they can get and use crap like this all the time. .Although in reality, very few of the companies I worked with likely made much money. They did well to cover development costs.
Step 1: Deep linking
Step 2: Useless analytics.
Step 3: Google or Facebook acquires us - profit.

I'm no longer working with startups - can't say I miss it. I used to point blank tell people their ideas where not that great. At one time, I'd sugar coat my response and give them an "I don't know answer". After watching people lose money and hearing horrible ideas, enough was enough. I was just a contractor and was never dumb enough to take a percentage of the company instead of pay. No thanks. Anyway, these platforms are out of hand and need regulation.
 
as a man.. i wish facebook good fucking luck tracking my ovulation... good luck indeed.. pretty sure they are fucked if that is what they wanna track.. from me at least.

hopefully facebook doesn't have a fap tracking algorithm however..
 
Let’s get this straight, app developers are using Facebook SDK and programming the app to gather medical data to send to Facebook. A developer which most likely can make 0 dollars from that data goes out of their way to program the gathering of medical data but too stupid to not send it to Facebook who really could exploit the data. Right!

Seems like the whole premise of the Facebook ecosystem is a better way to make money advertising by giving advertisers some sort of advantage. Except what is the reality? It is really not working.

I expect lawsuits against the advertisers paying for private personal medical information protected by law. While Facebook will pretend it was really not their doing.
 
atarione said:
as a man.. i wish facebook good fucking luck tracking my ovulation... good luck indeed.. pretty sure they are fucked if that is what they wanna track.. from me at least.

hopefully facebook doesn't have a fap tracking algorithm however..
Click to expand...
They can track pork viewing I am certain.
 
cageymaru said:
The Wall Street Journal is reporting that apps are sending sensitive information to Facebook through the Facebook SDK. The Facebook SDK makes it easy for app writers to share information with Facebook through a built-in analytics service called "App Events." 17.6% of the apps on Apple's App Store and 25.4% of the apps on the Google Play Store use the Facebook SDK. These apps are collecting your data to "allow apps to better understand their users' behavior or to collect data to sell targeted advertising." Facebook says it didn't know that health information was being collected and shared as this is violates their policies. Facebook collects the information for market research and advertising campaigns. Users do not even need a Facebook account for their information to be shared with the social media giant.

Some of the apps analyzed by The Wall Street Journal shared information such as weight, height, women's period, length of cycle, ovulation, heart rate, when women desire to get pregnant, location and prices of home listings; including which were marked as favorites. Other information shared include; unique advertising identifier that can be matched to a device or profile, email address, which part of the body a person has issues with in regards to weight loss and many other interactions. Within seconds of entering information into an app, Facebook is sent a copy of the information. "Facebook can often match that data with actual Facebook users."

Facebook said some of the data sharing uncovered by the Journal's testing appeared to violate its business terms, which instruct app developers not to send it "health, financial information or other categories of sensitive information." Facebook said it is telling apps flagged by the Journal to stop sending information its users might regard as sensitive. The company said it may take additional action if the apps don't comply. "We require app developers to be clear with their users about the information they are sharing with us," a Facebook spokeswoman said. She said Facebook automatically deletes some sensitive data it might receive, such as Social Security numbers.
Click to expand...

Seriously, why do people still use FB? I never used it and frankly highly doubt I missed anything. Seems like the data collection and the like is well known by everyone and yet people still go and give it to them. Are people really that braindead (I mean, I could probably answer my own question here)?
 
Ditto on never using it or other medias of the kind.
The problem now are that in all seriousness there are now people out there that have no clue to the fact we had a functioning world where no one missed out, and a plethora of more valid news before facetwitt,,,,, hell before the internet for that matter.

I know that if there are not a price on a thing then i am probably the product, and TBH that's also fine by me, but the problem is facetwitt ruin the world & internet even for us that have never been near their damn garbage.
I would prefer to pay a internet subscription ( aside for my ISP ) and then be without the likes of that cesspool company and others like them.

I am and have been for a while at a place where i am highly suspicious towards people that use those kind of social media.
 
People keep using Facebook, Twitter and customized news feeds because it simply feeds into their beliefs and interests. Or in some cases it feeds into their insanity.

Simply put, interacting with others online via static media like forums, blogs, social media pages, comments and so on, deprives people of any kind of sensory input, so they are left with the dopamine shot every time someone, literally anyone, shows them any kind of attention.

Social media is an addictive, more so for people who go through the same routine every day. It's a distraction that they can fill their mind with and forget about reality.

I can't stand Facebook, however, billions of people use it. It is like a cancer that we won't get rid of anytime soon.

In countries like Myanmar, Facebook is sponsoring the cellular data for everyone as long as they use the Facebook app on their smartphones. For young people in that country, the Internet is the same thing as Facebook. Also, Facebook has not translated their terms and conditions, policies and disclosures into their native language. So Myanmar is a data buffet for Facebook.

Facebook creeps into your life, even if you don't use it. Just by accident you can get into a picture, shared post, or some not creates a fake account with your info. This company is out of control, and no one seems to ever do anything about it.
 
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maxius said:
CONGRESS needs to act and make a 21st century privacy law your personal data (this includes genetic and health data) is yours and you should have complete control of every aspect of your data and no company can compel it by any means
Click to expand...

You expect Congress to step in?? They already hauled Zuckerberg in and all we ended up learning was that members of Congress likely couldn’t operate a toaster, let alone a computer.
 
HockeyJon said:
You expect Congress to step in?? They already hauled Zuckerberg in and all we ended up learning was that members of Congress likely couldn’t operate a toaster, let alone a computer.
Click to expand...

An inept and incompetent bureaucracy who does what their lobbyist overlords tell them to do. Only concerned about themselves, their next term, and not pissing off their contributors and masters.
 
Facebook is the new creepier Santa.

He knows if you’ve been bad or good, or ovulating, so be good for goodness sakes!
 
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