You've got a "Private" Message!
"I never use Facebook because... you know, it is too public". This was the echo I heard from a passer-by some weeks ago, while she was talking on her mobile phone. Ironically, the leading social-network, conceived for connecting with a close group of acquaintances and friends, has paid the price of expansion at the expenses of users' privacy.
An example of this is Facebook Messenger mobile app, mandatory to install from August if smartphones' users want to communicate via private messages. Those who unwillingly accepted, did not trust about privacy compliance. And according to Jonathan Zdziarski (iOS forensics and security researcher), there is more than meets the eye to be concerned.
As expressed in CBC News Community Blog, "Messenger is tracking more data than most people realize". After disassembling Messenger's iOS binary, Zdziarski made the following warnings:
Messenger performs analytics on everything - windows you view, everything you tap, icon badge number, application state, everything you do.
— Jonathan Zdziarski (@JZdziarski)
9 September 2014
Messenger even gathers data on how much time you spend using it in the foreground, vs. background time. So glad I don't use Facebook.
— Jonathan Zdziarski (@JZdziarski)
9 September 2014
Not necessarily the best design to keep credit card details in Objective-C objects in resident memory. But meh. pic.twitter.com/aIUpovBkB1
— Jonathan Zdziarski (@JZdziarski)
9 September 2014