Facebook Outlines Plans to Restrict Data Mining Through Facebook
Facebook is Making Changes in an Attempt
to Restrict Data Mining through their Platform
Bonus: How to Tell if Cambridge Analytica Has Your Information
By now, everyone has heard about the Facebook Data Mining Scandal. Third-party apps have been mining our Facebook data for years now, and Facebook made it very easy for them to do so. When the extent of what was being shared became public, users were incensed and started leaving the platform in droves. #DeleteFacebook began trending on Twitter. To prevent becoming the next "MySpace," Facebook promised to make changes to prevent apps from mining your data so freely. These changes will start rolling out today.
What Types of Data were Apps Collecting Before?
Part of what makes Facebook so popular is the amount of third-party content and the ease of sharing. Anyone can create a "Facebook Page," invite followers, embed apps, and invite users to like and share. When a user interacts with page content in any way, that page can access personal data related to that user. In addition, anyone can create a Facebook App, independent of any Facebook Page. Popular apps include quizzes, profile picture frames, games, and sweepstakes.
To help developers create content and apps, Facebook provides many developer APIs. API stands for Application Programming Interface, and it is basically a set of tools that make it easier for third-parties to develop apps and content that work with Facebook. Facebook provides several APIs, including ones for groups, pages, events, search, and games. They also offer the Facebook Login API, which makes it easy for users to create accounts on third-party sites without having another username and password to remember.
