This morning, if you’re like me, you forgot it was a holiday, picked up your phone and were greeted by a Facebook app update. Not Messenger, but the actual Facebook app.
Merry Christmas from Facebook, right?
I decided to read the update before clicking “Accept,” and boy, am I glad I did.
We already knew Facebook had been pimping us out to anyone it could, monetizing each of us through our hobbies, interests and behavior. Nothing is free. If you like using Facebook, you agree to let the company advertise to you. The better Facebook can advertise to you by monitoring your activity, the more valuable it is, and the more valuable you are, to advertisers.
This is the exchange. If you don’t like Facebook doing this, simply don’t use it. Or use it carefully. Limit what the company knows about you by keeping your About page looking like a ghost town.
It’s that easy, and that is the beauty of the free market. No one is forcing you to use Facebook.
However, this update is different. Facebook wants to collect data beyond the scope of its application. It wants permission to read your text messages. It wants access to what you are discussing privately with friends, family and lovers.
Of course, I hope we understand that those messages are not entirely private and that our mobile phone providers may retain information about them. Still, less is more when it comes to privacy. Facebook already has enough information to sell things to us. Let’s keep it out of our text messages.
Lest we forget, Facebook is already receiving government requests for information about its users and their activity.
Because the wording is so vague, we can only speculate about what Facebook intends to do with this access. But I think it’s safe to assume the company wants to continue collecting more information about you so it can advertise to you even more precisely.
I also find it odd that this update rolled out on Christmas morning. Was Facebook counting on people clicking “Accept” without reading?
This Christmas morning, I’ll be saying “No, thanks” to Facebook and its “gift.”