Some iOS Apps Sending an Alarming Amount of Data to Facebook and Most Users Are Unaware

[Nilhum]

WSJ is so greedy and draconian with their paywall. You don't get a single free article, and their subscription is like 5x what every other publication charges.

lol. On an apple site. Apple is usually the most expensive electronic company by far. Is that also draconian? The company that has 5W chargers for a $1200 phone. The company the removed the dongle for the most expensive phone ever. The company constantly raising prices 20-30% for iPads and Mac for no good reason. Very draconian

 

[rhett7660]

What's the point of using an already locked unsecure system with only Apple apps?

Some people or agencies only use Apple Apps, I don't know about unsecure at that point, if there are no apps, it would be secure.

 

[nwcs]

This is why Apple needs to keep the VPN-DNS ad blockers on the platform. I’ve been going through the DNS logs in AdGuard and blocking everything that passed through the default ad blocking.

 

[stylinexpat]

OK, sorry, but this is just funny. China doesn't allow Facebook in China because of the threat the sharing of information on such a platform presents. Let's not sit here and pretend that their somehow defenders of data privacy. There's no such thing as data privacy in China.

They think it is ok for them to do so but do not want an app from abroad collecting info on them

 

[AppleScruff1]

If iOS apps are doing this to many peoples points, just have to wonder what android apps are doing.

Deflection. Now that’s comical.

 

[ghostface147]

The entire article is not being shown

View attachment 823072

I don’t get that, I get the whole thing. Weird.

 

[Arlo Timetraveler]

The words I use to describe Facebook:


revolting · repellent · repulsive · sickening · nauseating · nauseous · stomach-churning · stomach-turning · off-putting · unpalatable · unappetizing · uninviting · unsavory · distasteful · foul · nasty · obnoxious · odious · vomitous · yucky · icky · gross · sick-making · gut-churning · grotty · squicky · bogging · disgustful · offensive · appalling · outrageous · objectionable · displeasing · shocking · horrifying · scandalous · monstrous · unspeakable · shameless · shameful · vulgar · gross · vile · wicked · odious · heinous · abhorrent · loathsome · obnoxious · detestable · hateful · sickening · contemptible · despicable · deplorable · abominable · execrable · unforgivable · unpardonable · inexcusable · intolerable · insupportable · beyond the pale · horrid · ghastly · sick · godawful · beastly · disgustful · loathly · scurvy · egregious · exceptionable


The words I use to describe how I feel about Facebook:


hate · loathe · detest · dislike greatly · abhor · abominate · despise · execrate · feel aversion toward · feel revulsion toward · feel hostile toward · be repelled by · be revolted by · regard with disgust · not be able to bear/stand · be unable to stomach · find intolerable · shudder at · recoil from · shrink from · hate someone's guts · disrelish


The words I hope others use to describe Facebook:


hating · loathing · hatred · detestation · dislike · distaste · abhorrence · abomination · execration · resentment · aversion · hostility · ill will · ill feeling · bad feeling · enmity · animosity · antagonism · antipathy · bitterness · animus · revulsion · disgust · contempt · repugnance · odium · rancor · disrelish

 

[nwcs]

Part of the issue is that, unlike desktop computers, users have very little visibility into what’s going on with apps unless you go through a lot of work to go through a proxy you can inspect. That’s how you’ll find a lot of security holes in apps as well passing things in the clear because they don’t think anyone will catch it. If Apple, Google, or any other company really wanted to move privacy forward they would provide easy-to-use tools to access/block DNS/IP with the ability to load in lists from trusted sources. Anything short of a system-wide provision is useless.

 

[dojoman]

So who's buying Facebook Portal?

 

[mattster16]

"Facebook collects data from apps even if no Facebook account is used to log in and even if the user isn't a member of Facebook." - OK now this is creepy.

 

[quietstormSD]

Apple needs to update their app guidelines

 

[JRobinsonJr]

The wall garden has is showing its holes.

No... a computing environment is demonstrating that nothing is ever 100% secure. Apple can only fix what they know about and/or prevent what they are looking for. I'm confident that they will look for this in the future.

 

[stylinexpat]

Apple needs to update their app guidelines

Any app caught sending private info to Facebook should be kicked off the App Store.

 

[tzm41]

Convenient for you. Nice way to twist things around. Walls can be scaled. The walls do protect (except T.Rump's wall). Apple should not be held responsible here. Consumers demand more and more functionality. Apple finds a healthy balance of security and convenience, and then people complain when that convenience is used against them, as if it's Apple's fault? No. Check your facts.

Hmm wow, you are getting very defensive for Apple. I wasn’t blaming Apple. I was just trying to say, don’t feel like you are absolutely so much safer using iOS.

 

[1050792]

Some people or agencies only use Apple Apps, I don't know about unsecure at that point, if there are no apps, it would be secure.

Not the average user, which the iPhones are marketed to.
[doublepost=1550868555][/doublepost]

No... a computing environment is demonstrating that nothing is ever 100% secure. Apple can only fix what they know about and/or prevent what they are looking for. I'm confident that they will look for this in the future.

Sure nothing is 100% secure, but then again, don't use marketing to claim you have a secure and private OS while it isn't.

 

[hmmfe]

If apple believes facebook has violated apple’s policy they will take down facebook’s App. In this case it’s not clear that fb specifically violated the policy (versus encouraging others to do so by providing an architecture that makes it easy and valuable to do it)

Well, there is the notion of Tortious Interference. I agree that it looks like it was 3rd party app developers that broke the terms directly. However, I think this is not the end of the analysis. If Facebook enticed this activity through monetary incentives, there could be liability. By liability, I don't mean in just the civil law sense.

 

[blcamp]

Here, let me fix this for you:

"It’s exactly this kind of crippety-crap that gives rise to consumer-friendly stuff like the GDPR, which returns at least partial control over personal information from out-of-control data collectors back to the people".

I sincerely hope the EU brings down the hammer on the developers of apps like the ones mentioned in the WSJ article that share deeply personal information without consent or even proper disclosure. Sadly, the for-sale US congress probably won't do anything.

I was NOT referring to FB as one of the ethical companies. I'm talking about small dev shops or one-man operations that DON'T pull the kind of stupidity spasms that the Big Brother-like operations do. The evil privacy-violating outfits like FB, Google, (and to a certain degree, Microsoft) all need to be called out and need to stop their nonsense or the web will disintegrate.

 

[stylinexpat]

I was not referring to FB as one of the ethical companies. I'm talking about small dev shops or one-man operations that DON'T pull the kind of stupidity spasms that the Big Brother-like operations do. FB, Google, and to a certain degree, Microsoft.

Yeah, Microsoft and Google are no angels either. They all like to collect. On the Google Pixel Smartphones Google forces you to save everything to their cloud servers with no option to save contacts to smartphone only.
[doublepost=1550869209][/doublepost]Make Apple Great Again

 

[supremedesigner]

This is not good. Due to article's "subscription" which I don't have... will someone please paste the app names here? I was wondering if WalkMeter is one of 'em...

 

[WilliamG]

Facebook is so disgusting

Facebook is actually a double-edged sword. Rather than just to lambast it for stuff like this, you have to remember it’s been used to draw attention to all sorts of conflicts all over the world, small and large.

The question is whether you think the bad outweighs the good...

 

[eoblaed]

Flo Period & Ovulation Tracker

Flo? Really?

 

[gijoeinla]

Apple and especially Tim Cook , mr. Caraokee give a ... about privacy. It’s just a marketing instrument.
And his Stanford speech is just the topping on all that.

It’s just disgusting what comes out recently only about the App Store

Oh ok.

If this is happening via iOS apps with some security in place just imagine what is being harvested off of Android and Google thank you.

 

[Saturn007]

Facebook is freakin creepy.

Stop using it people. Just stop.

The massive amount of people using Facebook is what has allowed it to garner this type of power with third parties. Facebook continues to have massive scandals and the same people who are outraged go and check on it two minutes later. People need to stop using it, delete their accounts, and eventually it will not have this kind of power.

You clearly didn't read the article! It's about Facebook harvesting data from other apps, even from people who never signed up for Facebook.

Google, however, does the same thing!

Check out what happens when you visit the Washington Post or New York Times websites! Your web browser will be populated with Facebook and Google tracking cookies. Same thing happens within the apps as they often open up web pages.

Even if you're not using, say, Safari, it will collect Facebook and Google cookies as a result of using those news apps.

 

[hmmfe]

Facebook is actually a double-edged sword. Rather than just to lambast it for stuff like this, you have to remember it’s been used to draw attention to all sorts of conflicts all over the world, small and large.

The question is whether you think the bad outweighs the good...

I see what you are saying, but I have to disagree in part. I think we can have the good and not the bad. Either Facebook can reform itself, or users could migrate to a more ethical service and we can still get the sort of benefits you stated above. But, we'd not have to deal with an unethical company.

Of course, it is possible that the service everyone goes to would end up being unethical too. That is a different question, though. I don't think we should be resigned to having the bad because of the good. We can expect (demand) better.

 

[Treq]

Block all ******** apple. No other way.

Then do what, use android. That’s like saying “crooks keep picking my locks, I’m just going to leave the doors open from now on.” Android is just spyware in os form.