Older Facebook apps threaten your and your friends’ privacy

Facebook users that are concerned with keeping their privacy have probably become more careful with the years about adding applications to their account, since many ask access to more information they are willing to provide.

But two, three years back – before Facebook was forced to give users more privacy control over each application used – applications asked for a lot more information in order to function than they do now. And all the users that use older versions of various applications are still giving it access to all that information that was agreed on before, reports Vanessa Dennis.

Take the YouTube App as an example, and see what information it asked access to before and what it asks now:

As you can see, before it could access practically all your information, post to your Wall and even access your friends’ information. Unfortunately, that means that all the “Facebook” friends that are using any of these “older” applications are giving it access to your information – and vice versa.

If you are at all concerned about this, it’s best to review every application you have on your account. Go to Privacy Settings/Apps and Websites, then click on the “Edit Settings” button and on each application individually to review their specific privacy settings. If you are not satisfied with them, delete the application and think twice about adding it again. Then send this article to your friends and ask them to do the same.