Facebook is at the center of a debate over whether the social media site should share users’ contact information with third parties such as application developers.
Facebook initially approved the idea and Friday rolled out the ability for apps to ask for permission to received and share a user’s contact information. This includes the name, address and phone number of the user. A user granted permission at the same time they granted permission to access data on Facebook.
However, Facebook immediately came under fire for te change. Many touted the late announcement as an attempt to hide the news. Other expressed how confusing it was for the user which is a common privacy concern on Facebook. It was also brought up that this information could get into the wrong hands. So Facebook stepped back and recalled the change…for now.
The company has stated that they still want and intend to offer this ability to app developers. They just are not sure how they should do this. The company is working to ensure that users only give this information when and if they choose to.
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