Facebook quizzes invade your privacy in more ways than you think
It's well-known that answering Facebook quizzes can be a hoot. There are many of them floating around in cyberspace.
They are easy to make and fun to take.
But it turns out they could also place the user in danger of unwittingly divulging personal information.
But a recent quiz, set up by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), shows how Facebook quizzes can siphon information - that users thought was protected - right out of your profile.
Although adjusting your individual privacy settings can help in some situations, users’ information may be accessible when their friends take part in a Facebook quiz.
Facebook gave KATU's Problem Solvers team a written statement saying that quiz developers have to promise not to store data for more than 24 hours.
Their policy says developers can't mislead, surprise or defraud users, and the company says it does spot checks to see if developers are following the policy.
Facebook assured KATU that developers can't use quizzes and games to access users’ very private information - such as contact info - without users’ express permission.
Still, Dave Fidanque, with the Portland ACLU, believes some developers can and will get around the Facebook policy and use your information against you.
"The more it happens, the more tendency there's going to be for our privacy to be invaded without us knowing about it," said Fidanque.
The Canadian government has investigated these quizzes and decided Facebook needed to make some changes.
Facebook said it will, however, it will take a long time to retrofit their site and to give developers time to make sure their quizzes, games and other applications still work.
But until that day, Facebook users are still exposed.
As previously mentioned, changing your Facebook settings can help, however cutting back on taking Facebook quizzes is even better.
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