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CBS / AP According to a Wall Street Journal report, several phone applications send sensitive user data, including health-related information, to Facebook without the consent of the user. The data is said to include information such as heart rates and pregnancy status.
An analysis tool called "Application Events" allows application developers to record the user's activity and report it to Facebook, even if the The user is not on Facebook, according to the report.
A detailed example by the Journal shows how a woman would follow her rules and ovulation with the help of a Flo Health app. After arriving at the last menstruation, the application's Facebook software would send data indicating for example if the user was ovulating. The log tests revealed that the data was sent with an advertising identifier that could be associated with a device or profile.
Although Facebook's terms require application developers not to send such sensitive information, Facebook seems to accept this data without asking developers to stop it. Developers can use this data to target their own users on Facebook.
One of Flo's users, a woman who started using the app last year, told The Wall Street Journal that she could delete the app because of concerns about the confidentiality of the data. "I think it's incredibly dishonest of them to lie to their users, especially when it's about something so sensitive," said the woman, Alice Berg.
Flo Health said in a statement that the use of analytical systems was a "common practice" for all app developers and that she was using Facebook's analyzes for "purposes". internal analysis only ". He added that Facebook's analysis department is distinct from the social media platform.
"The Facebook Analytics information is only used for internal analysis purposes: to study user behavior, provide them with the best possible experience and develop a product," Flo said in a statement.
However, the company plans to audit its analytics tools to be "as proactive as possible" with respect to confidentiality issues.
Facebook review
The report comes as Facebook faces a scrutiny of how it treats user data. Last week, UK lawmakers released a scathing report calling for tougher privacy rules for Facebook and other tech companies.
Criticisms about privacy intensified nearly a year ago as a result of revelations that the now-defunct Cambridge Analytica data mining company had acceded to data from some 87 million Facebook users without their consent. The US Federal Trade Commission has also investigated this flap and would be negotiating with Facebook for a multi-billion dollar fine.
The data sharing is linked to a data analysis tool proposed by Facebook to developers. This tool allows developers to view statistics about their users and target them with Facebook ads.
The Journal said it has tested more than 70 popular apps and discovered that at least 11 people had sent potentially sensitive user information to Facebook, based on data entered by consumers or on their behavior.
Heart rate monitor
In addition to Flo Health, the Journal found that Instant Heart Rate: HR Monitor and Realtor.com Real Estate application also sent application data to Facebook. The Journal found that the applications did not provide users with any way to stop data sharing.
Facebook did not immediately respond to a request for comment. He told the Review that some data sharing appeared to violate his business terms. According to the company, application developers must clearly explain to users what they share.
Hours after the publication of the article, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo ordered the State Department and the State Financial Services Department to investigate immediately "on what he calls a clear breach of privacy of consumers. The Democrat also urged federal regulators to step in to end this practice.
The director of Securosis, Rich Mogull, said that although it's not good for Facebook to have another wave of data privacy in the headlines, "in this case, it seems like the main violators the companies that wrote these applications, "he said. "Facebook in this case is more the facilitator than the bad actor."
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