Prevent misuse of Facebook apps
Particularly important in the current discussions about Facebook and Cambridge Analytica ( 1
One must not forget at this point: this data collection was completely legal at the time. There were no hacks or security breaches. Releases, or this type of data collection on such a large scale, was much easier on Facebook until spring 2014. During this period, the interface (API) on Facebook was changed.
But even today, user data can still be collected to a certain extent through apps!
And how does this affect me?
It's about the so-called Facebook apps. These apps / applications are “programs” that are used again and again in games, tests, etc. for use on Facebook. Tests such as “Which job is right for you” or “What’s in your fortune cookie” or “What does a film poster of you and your friends look like” are particularly popular. Although these have nothing to do with the Cambridge Analytica data, they work according to a very similar model.
And no! This is not a current phenomenon, as we warned about it 5 years ago .
As an example, let's take a test called "Who is your best friend?" calls.
Let's take a look at this app in detail: As soon as you click/tap on it, you will be redirected to the Nametests.com website. The user must now connect or log in to their Facebook account :

The user is advised that the operator has ACCESS to the Facebook friends list and the chronicle posts. Very often also on the entire public profile and also on the email address.

If you now click on “Continue as (your name)”, an image with your name will be created from your current profile picture, BUT ALSO from the profile picture of a person in your friends list.

The user can now share this directly on Facebook if they want. This would look like this:

The apps have total access to the respective public Facebook profile!
Such apps only work if the user grants them the right to access the “PUBLIC PROFILE”. This is necessary so that these apps work at all and, as in this case, the user can see their name and profile picture.
The app itself is essentially the back door to the respective user profile.
The user now “opens” this door by clicking on “Play Now”. At this moment, any information that the user has set to “Public” in their Facebook profile is available to the app operator. The operator now also has the email address and receives information about status posts and photos from the friends list.
This is “necessary” so that the user can now carry out various tests/analysis games. Such as

All of these games always have access to the data of the respective Facebook user!
These apps always have access to the following points:
- public profile,
- Friends list,
- E-mail address,
- Chronicle posts and
- photos
Yes, it may be that certain tests and analysis games require various data from the user so that the user can be shown a result in the tests. BUT should you really be so FREE with DATA? With just a single click, the user has transmitted a lot of DATA to the OPERATOR.
SO WHAT?
Of course you can now say “SO WHAT?” Then I just remove the app from my Facebook settings .

But BEWARE!
Here the APP (the application) is only removed from the Facebook account, but the DATA itself is NOT. The operator of this APP still has this. You can even read it separately in the following information window that is displayed to the user.

Note: The information you entered on nametests.com may still be there. For more details on how to remove this data, please contact nametests.com or visit the nametests.com privacy policy .
From this note you can see that the mentioned USER DATA was stored by the OPERATOR in a DATABASE!
Understood! To learn how to remove your data, check out the Privacy Policy!
So let’s start looking for: “…how you can remove this data”.
We just inserted the word “ remove ” into the browser search mask so that we can find it straight away. But the word “remove”, as it could be read in the information window, does not even exist in the data protection declarations:

Then let’s try using the word “Facebook”. And now we found what we were looking for:
The meaning here is that users can log in with, among other things, a “Facebook login”. And it depends on the user himself which data he releases. In plain English, this means that the user transmits all DATA that is set to “PUBLIC”.
It also says this under 5.3:
Depending on the provider and the user's choice, there can be different data, usually the email address and the user name. In the case of Facebook, it is also so-called “public information” that everyone can see. This includes the name, profile and cover photo, gender, networks (e.g. school or work), user name (Facebook URL) and user identification number (Facebook ID).
The password itself is not transmitted. If the user no longer wants to use this so-called “third-party authentication” (the Facebook login), then he must remove it from his “apps”. And here too it says separately, just like in the information window on Facebook:
If users want to delete their data from the provider, they must cancel with the provider.
What can happen if you forget the APP, don't remove it or even have your data deleted by the operator?
Then point 6 of the data protection declaration should come into force and it reads: Advertising consent
And this one has it all. As we can remember, the operator of the APP also received the user's email address(es).
By activating the app, the user has also given the operator permission to...
... to receive messages from us via electronic channels such as e-mail and/or notifications and/or push notifications with informative and/or promotional offers from the following subject areas: test drives, cars, free vouchers, discount offers, travel bargains, competitions, Product samples, newsletters, loans, finance, insurance, investments, mobile communication, free tickets, online games, travel, applications, mobile games and applications, videos, quizzes, personality tests, social media offers, dating, fashion, cosmetics, editorial content and offers, smartphones, Toolbars, browser add-ons, software, gifts, newspapers, magazines, computer games, skill games, special offers, SIM cards, electricity, gas, energy, telecommunications, mail order, product samples, games, banks, surveys, market research, loans, photo products.
Conclusion:
Not that we want to be spoilsports. Everyone is welcome to continue taking tests to see what they will look like in 40 years or which friend will wear which underwear.
BUT you must ALWAYS keep in mind that you are giving such analysis apps private DATA so that they can deliver a result.
The question is whether you want that!
And whether the “exchange” is justified. Is MY DATA VALUE the same as the results I get from such tests?
Horny for advertising?
Sure, if you are keen on advertising emails that come from the following subject areas:
Test drives, cars, free vouchers, discount offers, travel bargains, competitions, product samples, newsletters, loans, finance, insurance, investments, mobile communication, free tickets, online games, travel, applications, mobile games and applications, videos, quizzes, personality tests, social media Offers, dating, fashion, cosmetics, editorial content and offers, smartphones, toolbars, browser add-ons, software, gifts, newspapers, magazines, computer games, skill games, special offers, SIM cards, electricity, gas, energy, telecommunications, mail order, product samples , games, banks, surveys, market research, loans, photo products.
Then you can give consent to such apps. Why not?! (Yes, this was meant ironically).
And now?
The NRW consumer advice center writes the following in a recent article:
Do you know which of your data on Facebook your friends share with companies? This doesn't have to be intentional. But with the help of apps that run on Facebook, it is very easy to get data. However, you can use the Facebook settings to prohibit apps from reading and using your Facebook data. To do this, click on “Edit” under “Apps used by other people” and remove all active ticks. You can see video instructions at the end of this text.
Looks like this on Facebook:
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Notes:
1) This content reflects the current state of affairs at the time of publication. The reproduction of individual images, screenshots, embeds or video sequences serves to discuss the topic. 2) Individual contributions were created through the use of machine assistance and were carefully checked by the Mimikama editorial team before publication. ( Reason )





