cross-posted from: https://lemmy.dbzer0.com/post/17617609

They supposedly can be disabled in settings- but we all know that won't last. They're going full Microsoft Skype mode and it's only a matter of time.

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[–] 2 points 2 years ago (1 child)

never allowed 3rd party apps

Facebook used to allow third party apps (e.g. Snaptu started as a third-party app before the acquisition) and exposed most of the functionality via their API, but it's not really a thing any more after Cambridge Analytica - the API was locked down significantly. You can't really have it both ways... Allowing third-party apps also allows those apps to scrape and store user info, which is what Cambridge Analytica did.

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  • [+] 1 point 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago) (1 child)
  • [–] 1 point 2 years ago

    Accessing an API is not scraping.

    I probably used the wrong words... What I meant is that given API access, a malicious third-party can gather a large amount of data and store it in a way that goes against the service's terms of service, without the proper privacy guarantees (e.g. user data being deleted if they delete their account). Obviously that's a problem for a social network where people can post a lot of friends-only posts.

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