Switch Lights

The lights are on

What's Happening

Facebook Games Expose Users

Some popular Facebook games like Farmville have been transmitting user's names – without the knowledge of developers, users, or Facebook – to third-party data mining firms.

An investigation by The Wall Street Journal found that the names of up to tens of millions of Facebook users have been harvested from popular Facebook games even though users might have set up strict privacy settings. Marketing companies often buy names from other companies to bolster their database for advertising purposes like spam as well as tracking a user's online activities. A Facebook official said that the ID extraction process wouldn't reveal user's private details, but that the company would enact counter-measures to stop the practice.

Facebook has rules against this, but it clearly didn't stop this from happening. Facebook has come under criticism for exposing user's info in the past year, and the Journal itself has previously busted Facebook itself for transmitting user IDs to ad companies. Is it crazy then to think that Facebook knew and approved of this newest breach all along?

Email the author , or follow on , and .

Comments
  • I find it odd that facebook has started blocking some of their aps today for this but they've haven't blocked any of the Zynga games.

  • Oh well I don't use facebook anymore.

  • Facebook....as a country we're too addicted to it to really do something about it...

  • My Mom uses these games, and I worry about what of her information is now floating out there.  Then again, she's not exactly a safe internet user anyway...

  • And this is more reasons not to play Facebook games.

    For shame, Zynga.

  • You know, this is quite interesting, for what use would they have a user ID but no personal info?

    Makes you wonder what they could be doing with your Facebook

  • Come on, if you're surprised... I have a bridge I'd like to sell you.

  • Interestingly I heard this on the news just this morning.

  • Good thing I don't have one.

  • This doesn't surprise me one bit.  All those people that are users of facebook...  It just seems too easy.

  • Just another reason why you shouldn't play crappy Facebook games.

  • Not surprised at all, why I try to keep away from Facebook as much as possible.

    I'll be waiting on Diaspora.

  • Oh well, before you even play a game on facebook it warns you that it's going to request some private info. This really shouldn't surprise that many people.

  • Always a catch to "free" games

  • It doesnt matter what security things that you have to protect yourselves from these types of things, if you make them and then enter them (of which i am guilty of) then someone or something is GA RUN TEED to get ahold of it someway or another. I for one dont play farmville, yet have one and sometimes get on the app for the iPod Touch. I will probably stop playing these games now.

  • Facebook could rule the world. If you're an avid facebook user, chances are that facebook knows your name, your address, your phone number, what you look like, who your friends are, who your family is, what you're doing most days, etc. It's really pretty sad how people just lay down and submit these days. Where did the ability to fight for your rights go? Look around you when you're out in public. There are cameras at gas stations, banks, restaurants. Not to mention, even Microsoft and Sony are implementing cameras into gaming. With Kinect and Move you have a freaking camera in your house, in front of your T.V. Who's to say they can't/aren't watching? There is nothing you can do that isn't documented. But in this day and age it seems nearly impossible to rally anyone to a cause. People refuse to fight for what's right, or even THEIR rights. Wish life could just be simple.
  • I'm glad I don't play facebook games.

  • *Nelson point and laugh*

  • If the Social Network taught us anything, Mark Zuckerberg will do anything it takes to make more and more money. This guy is beyond ambitious, he's just a money grubbing ***.

  • I'm so happy I block every single app on FB.

1 2 Next