Popular third-party apps sending personal user data to Facebook without asking: Study

Facebook has already become one of the largest, if not the largest, repository of user personal data and if reports are to be believed third-party apps are pumping more of your data in Facebook without getting your permission. A study has determined that at least 20 out of 34 popular Android apps such as Kayak, TripAdvisor and more are sending personal information to the social media giant. [caption id=“attachment_5623681” align=“alignnone” width=“1280”] Facebook logo.[/caption] The Privacy International study said that the data being sent may not identify you immediately but can be used to track someone else on the basis of the apps they have installed. As per the study, Kayak actually sends Facebook data regarding destination and flight search, or whether or not kids are travelling with you. If this is true then it will be a gross violation of the recently introduced GDPR rules in Europe.  To be fair, however, “Facebook’s relevant developer kit didn’t provide the option to ask for permission until after GDPR took effect,” says an Engadget report. In response to the report, Facebook said that users should be aware on when an app sends data and to have “control” if that data happens to be linked to them. Facebook also stressed on the fact that the Clear History feature will help and also that developers can turn off automatic data gathering. Recent news about Facebook includes a survey by research company Toluna which stated that 40 percent of respondents said they trust Facebook the least with their personal information. The sample size was of 1,000 people. The  results were published by Recode.