Anyone upset that some of their data were not properly stored and regulated? I imagine so.
This day in age Facebook has become the “norm” and while the company’s past has shown that they are always attempting to evolve and make the platform better, some users take a little longer to adjust. The history of the company shows that their changes will be made on their terms and its users will just have to cope. User data has always been important though as it is a social platform, let’s not forget that.
Sounds great so far, right? However, sharing your user or phone data to join a mobile app so you don’t have to sign in or create a new account has also become the “norm”. Who has time to create a new account for every app, just sign in with Facebook. Looking at how people use the Internet today, you really can’t help but say, we had it coming! I am not saying that the breach or removal of data from Facebook was okay by any means. However, I am saying that if you use the internet today and use Facebook as a tool for signing in, you have become compliant with how larger tech companies want to access your data.
Again, you had it coming. Now, don’t take this on a broad scale and say, “this could be applied to something like mobile banking”. Mobile banking really only has one job, “keep our money secure”. Facebook and other online social platforms fall under the unfortunate double standard set by the market; host a fun and social engagement space that we all seek, but to also keep our data/privacy safe.
Many companies have followed suit in this #deletefacebook movement. While I can understand their point, I feel that many CEO’s or people have spoken too quickly. It is much easier to make a public statement like such when you are not under direct fire. It would be naive to say that other companies have not experienced large data breaches or security issues, but that does not mean that everyone abandons them. If you want to delete Facebook, go for it, I am not here to convince you to stay. I am simply saying that unless you take the proper precautions or really dive into internet security, you are just another user on the internet and your data is at all times subject to being hacking when you use platforms like Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Snap, and so on.
I am not security expert but I know enough to say that using third-party apps from Facebook such as quizzes and games have always come with the data question, asking you if it’s okay to access your Facebook data. What do most people click? Yes! As I said, you had it coming, because not only are you putting your trust in facebook but also that third party company.
Evolving!
Stop for a moment a think back 10 years, what did the internet look like, what was the most popular coding language, what was the top 10 most popular applications, and lastly, what were the biggest problems with the internet?
Now look at it today, things have changed! You can access more, have more resources, and have nearly unlimited reach across the globe. However, where there is good, there is bad, security is a the top of the problem list and is showing no signs of stopping as the data security industry is expected to be north of $160B in the next 5 years.
So next time you log into facebook, twitter, or any other application and you decide to share your data with for a game or gif app, think about what you are doing and hold both companies to the same standard. Don’t forget, you chose to use their platform. Any platform no matter how good or well known it has the unlikely, but still possible chance of being hacked.