Matthew Byers | Contributing Writer
People today can spend numerous hours on Facebook going beyond needing a laptop or an iPad to use it. Smartphones can regularly access Facebook through the basic web service or also use the Facebook App to browse their feed and see pictures of their friends’ selfies. As convenient as using the app on the go is, uproar has ensued as people discover the Facebook Mobile Messenger App requires numerous permissions ranging from: clock, calendar, contacts, location, and numerous other features, all of which are listed on the specific app store of your device.
This list of permissions seems incredibly invasive, as the app requires nearly all information of your phone. The permissions themselves seem to be the beginning of the problems as Facebook demands the right to receive, alter, and keep instant messages. Facebook would also like to be able to access your microphone and camera and many are worried they will be secretly watched and recorded. I can’t say I would much appreciate having private conversations watched and recorded, and even if I wasn’t discussing illegal activity, it would be an invasion of privacy.
Anyone who uses Facebook regularly would be affected by these requirements and permissions. It could range from college professors wanting to keep in touch with kids or just students socializing. With over a billion total users on Facebook, plenty of people are affected by the policy requirements.
As a regular Facebook user, the idea of sharing this compiled information seems rather off putting. I would like to keep my private conversations just that, private. With the recent uproar of the National Security Agency using all available tools to gather information on people, ranging from regular citizens to their definition of possible terrorists, internet and personal privacy is important. I don’t have any illegal activity to hide, but what I say to people are for their ears only, not Agent Smith and Mr. Zuckerberg.
Despite the intrusive requirements, and these requirements and permissions are required on all uses of Facebook (meaning even laptops and iPads follow the same rules), Facebook declares that they are not after personal information, spying, or illegal demographic monitoring. They say that the permissions are necessary to send images to your friends (camera permission), calling people through Facebook (microphone permission), and other similarly set standards. Other apps may have similar set functions to allow a wide range of functions, so is it really odd for a calling function to need use of your microphone?
NBC News looked at the information and finds that Facebook indeed is not looking to spy on its users and the press saying they are is just a myth, and reality is far from it. NBC News also claims that the current set up of the messenger app existed well into 2011 rather than recently; it was originally used in Europe and Facebook determined that a standalone system for messaging would offer more features and extended the product, though mandatory, to the world.
If you feel uncomfortable using an app or being part of a social-media site that you feel is abusing you, be smart about what you post. If you feel threatened, leave the app, or delete your account, but ultimately, simply be smart about using the internet. There are too many online risks, and just thinking through the risks can help keep your personal information safe.
Graphic by Krystal Schulte
