Socialcam fixes "accidental" video sharing glitch

A glitch in Socialcam, the video version of Instagram that allows users to share videos has now been fixed, following a host of concerns that were raised by Future of Privacy Forum, a Washington DC-based think tank and advocacy group focusing on the topic of privacy. According to a post by the organization on their Facebook page, a glitch in the hugely popular app caused the sharing feature on the service to be turned on without the user being in the know, after he, or she would switch it off and log out of their account. A report by MediaPost further elaborating on the topic, added, “The major fear was that some users might have been unaware that the app shared clips they viewed with their friends – including the types of not-safe-for-work videos that many people likely didn’t want to publicize.” Now, however, after a host of privacy changes made to the app, the going seems to have got smooth for the app that has garnered 50 million Facebook users in just the last three weeks.

Socialcam glitch fixed.. 

The new privacy changes, according to a post on FPF’s Facebook page include:

• “When you authorize the SocialCam FaceBook app instead of saying “Ok, Watch Video” it says “allow or Go to App” (Facebook default language)
• When you go to the Socialcam website there is a pop up explaining Social Mode 
• There is an uninstall Socialcam link in the blue Facebook box below the video 
• Social Mode stays off when you switch browsers and/or log out
• If you turn Social Mode off on the app or the website it will reflect on the other (it doesn’t display correctly on the app - we are pushing a new version to address this - but it won’t push any Facebook actions)”

Further quoting Jules Polonetsky, Co-Chair and Director of the Future of Privacy Forum, the report added that like other social apps on Facebook, Socialcam too updates the Facebook contacts of the user with information about the videos the user watches. Of course, the app did allow users to disable the sharing option for some clips, but got back to sharing the videos by default the next time someone tried to use the service. However now, following the changes made to enhance the privacy controls, the app does not get back to sharing video clips automatically and will only do so, if the user reactivates it. The new privacy changes on the app now includes a pop-up on the app, explaining to the user the app’s sharing feature and an uninstall link. 

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“_Polonetsky adds that he reached out to Socialcam earlier this month after he noticed that people in his social network were sharing material that could harm them professionally, like a racy clip of women in bikinis. “People were unaware that by watching, they were sharin_g,” Polonetsky says,” the report added further.