Facebook and other Apps Could have Access to Even More Personal Data than You Might Think--Follow the Tip Below!
Tyler Cohen Wood CISSP
Keynote Speaker | Host Our Connected Life podcast | CEO & CoFounder Dark Cryptonite | Top 30 Women in AI | Cyber Woman of the Year Finalist | Top Global Cybersecurity | Board Member | Fmr DIA Cyber Chief | AI security
By Tyler Cohen Wood
If you downloaded the Facebook app on your smartphone prior to the Android 6.0 update, you may be sharing far more than you might like. The ability to pick and choose specific permissions for apps wasn’t available for Android until Android 6.0 (Marshmallow). So, in essence, when you downloaded an app to your pre-6.0 Android device, the app permission access carried over without you choosing what permissions apps (including Facebook) have to your device. If users didn’t update their app permissions with subsequent Android updates, apps may still have access to other sensitive areas of your phone. It is critical that you go into the permission settings and remove the access that you don’t want social media apps or other apps to have.
The figure below shows the permissions on a pre-Android 6.0 phone that the Facebook app had access to:
Not only would Facebook have had access to these sensitive areas of your device, but third-party apps such the one used by Cambridge Analytica may have as well. This means that the social media site and other third-party apps may have or had full access to your text messages, photos, videos, GPS, contacts including phone numbers, calendar, SD card and the ability to record video or audio.
It is vital that you go into the settings for all apps on any smartphone and remove permissions that you don’t want an app to have access to.
The views expressed in this post are my own and do not reflect any previous, current or future employer.
CEO | Chief Innovation Officer | Software Solutions Architect | IAM Expert | US Patent Holder
5 年Excellent tips for user to protect themselves - I have scheduled a weekend date with my iPhone. That said, allowing social media providers to collect all the information required to precisely pinpoint who is using my login credentials, where, when and how, is like one side of a double edged sword.? The other edge is that, if the providers keep expansive personally identifiable information (PII), we would want them to comply with HIPAA privacy or even stronger regulations. And what would be the implications of a successful hack and massive theft of member PII and behavioral data from Facebook or Twitter or both?
sales trainer /consultant at are you engaged auto sales training Body Language consultant,Communication consultant
6 年Fabulous article Tyler Thank you !!
Cyber Security Professional. Supporter of the PAWS Program and Guiding Eyes for the Blind.
6 年Great Article, Tyler! Few people know about their phones apps and the apps access permissions.
CEO @ Berkeley Varitronics Systems | Cybersecurity Expert
6 年Thanks for this timely article. Important to understand and adjust those permission settings....