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Just to clarify. I don't have an app. I don't have anyone's permission to do anything. I'm just messing around with URL's in their search API: http://develop

Just to clarify. I don't have an app. I don't have anyone's permission to do anything. I'm just messing around with URL's in their search API: http://developers.facebook.com/docs/api http://developers.facebook.com/docs/api This is also what prompted my to try and start a discussion about privacy over here: http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1341227 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1341227 From the search api docs: You can search over all public objects in the social graph with https://graph.facebook.com/search https://graph.facebook.com/search. The format is: https://graph.facebook.com/search?q=QUERY&type=OBJECT_TYPE https://graph.facebook.com/search?q=QUERY&type=OBJECT_TY... We support search for the following types of objects: All public posts: https://graph.facebook.com/search?q=watermelon&type=post https://graph.facebook.com/search?q=watermelon&type=post People: https://graph.facebook.com/search?q=mark&type=user https://graph.facebook.com/search?q=mark&type=user Pages: https://graph.facebook.com/search?q=platform&type=page https://graph.facebook.com/search?q=platform&type=page Events: https://graph.facebook.com/search?q=conference&type=event https://graph.facebook.com/search?q=conference&type=even... Groups: https://graph.facebook.com/search?q=programming&type=group https://graph.facebook.com/search?q=programming&type=gro... You can also search an individual user's News Feed, restricted to that user's friends, by adding a q argument to the home connection URL: News Feed: https://graph.facebook.com/me/home?q=facebook https://graph.facebook.com/me/home?q=facebook

rayvega 16y ago
It could be related to this: http://searchengineland.com/facebooks-posts-by-everyone-feature-do-people-realize-theyre-sharing-to-the-world-41525 http://searchengineland.com/facebooks-posts-by-everyone-feat...
bcl 16y ago
To be clear, this is only searching public posts. Its just that a large number of FB users either don't know, or don't care, what they are now broadcasting to the world.
- natrius 16y ago
  There's a little lock button under the status box that lets you set your privacy settings for each post. They should expand it to put the actual label of your privacy setting on the button, so people would see "Everyone" on the button when talking about their rectal surgery. I honestly think most people don't mind posting their thoughts for everyone to see (cf. Twitter), but there is definitely a minority that is doing so accidentally, and that's easy to fix.
  - 27182818284 16y ago
    The lock is especially powerful if you combine it with lists. For the longest time I didn't know about lists because I didn't use FB's chat or any similar features that revealed lists to me. Being able to quickly block just "Family" or "Old Bosses" via lists and locks is one security change FB made that really works for me. (one big problem, though, is that I don't think there is a way from Facebook mobile to use the lock's functionality.)
kingsley_20 16y ago
I left a comment on your other post (http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1341519 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1341519), but here's a proposal - why not make a privacy app for those who care about, that can monitor their as well as their friends' feeds and help them squash unintentionally public posts about personal details? I'd be willing to collaborate if you're interested.
- DanielBMarkham 16y ago
  Sounds eerily familiar. http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1337644 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1337644
  - kingsley_20 16y ago
    At the level that the intention is to let you use facebook safely, yes. My feeling is that it would be far easier to convince us scared geeks to install a privacy app that helps our friends and family (with little effort on our part) than to get the unwashed masses to do anything about privacy violations.
    - DanielBMarkham 16y ago
      If you use the Facebook condom, as it were, and as a part of that it synchronizes your data with some open source format, then you get safety and privacy, you move your data to an open format, and friends get transparency. Good for all, no?
    - Qz 16y ago
      I don't think it would be hard at all. Privacy could be the new anti-virus.
      - NEPatriot 16y ago
        You can scare the general public pretty easily. All it takes is one example of what could go wrong and all of the sudden there is a boom.
metamemetics 16y ago
? Everyone on facebook can already make these searches. A much simpler way is to go to search, "posts by everyone", and type in watermelon. edit: Clearer instructions: 1. Login to Facebook. 2. Type 'blah' in search and hit enter. 3. When it says no results found, click on "Posts by everyone" in the left bar. Searching everyone's posts has been a feature on facebook for a really long time, it's just somewhat buried in the interface so I'm not surprised if no one noticed it.
- coderdude 16y ago
  I don't know if this distinction has been made yet or if it even matters, but you would have to be logged-in to crawl that data. Assuming you wanted to compile a dataset of Facebook user data, this is clearly the superior method.
rhl 16y ago
So, not to be too PC, but the OP's example seems really uncalled for. These people are basically facing colorectal cancer, possible metastasis, and probable death. I'd much rather pick up on people whose questionable (idiotic?) behavior combined with a mishandling of FB's privacy settings make them deserve the opprobrium: https://graph.facebook.com/search?q=fuck%20my%20boss&type=post&access_token=2227470867|2.4mSmI_rnZ_Bh6ivmffGAvg__.3600.1273701600-509278436|hZeI7sz30tQ_PBnd-8YIyxLHVig https://graph.facebook.com/search?q=fuck%20my%20boss&typ.... How many of these people do you think actually realize that their boss can (and more and more do) read what they post?
rhl 16y ago
So, not to be too PC, but the OP's example seems really uncalled for. These people are basically facing colorectal cancer, possible metastasis, and probable death. I'd much rather pick up on people whose questionable (idiotic?) behavior combined with a mishandling of FB's privacy settings make them deserve the opprobrium: https://graph.facebook.com/search?q=fuck%20my%20boss&type=post&access_token=2227470867|2.4mSmI_rnZ_Bh6ivmffGAvg__.3600.1273701600-509278436|hZeI7sz30tQ_PBnd-8YIyxLHVig https://graph.facebook.com/search?q=fuck%20my%20boss&typ.... How many of these people do you think actually realize that their boss can (and more and more do) read what they post? edit: the first hit is spot on (hiding the name): "from": { "name": (hidden), "id": (hidden) }, "message": "Oh fuck! Now my boss wants to come over on friday as well. Let's rob his ass!(jk) What do you think the chances are that he has a facebook account and he's readin this?", "link": "http://www.facebook.com/ http://www.facebook.com/, etc...
larrywright 16y ago
Ok, so you wanted to mess around with their URL and you decided to search for "Rectal surgery"? I'm not going to judge, but... wait, no I am going to judge. That's just weird.
- mst 16y ago
  Right. This is the internet. That was a horribly tame example search - "anal prolapse" would have been far more entertaining.
  - LiamAnderson 16y ago
    Ok, who else just searched for "anal prolapse?"
megablast 16y ago
Just hoping that Flickr doesn't let me do that, not willing to find out.
pyman 16y ago
If Twitter allows to search public statuses, then it's fine. If Facebook allows to search public statuses, then the world is doomed. Utterly nonsense. If you don't like it, don't use it.

rayvega 16y ago

It could be related to this: http://searchengineland.com/facebooks-posts-by-everyone-feature-do-people-realize-theyre-sharing-to-the-world-41525 http://searchengineland.com/facebooks-posts-by-everyone-feat...

bcl 16y ago

To be clear, this is only searching public posts. Its just that a large number of FB users either don't know, or don't care, what they are now broadcasting to the world.

natrius 16y ago
There's a little lock button under the status box that lets you set your privacy settings for each post. They should expand it to put the actual label of your privacy setting on the button, so people would see "Everyone" on the button when talking about their rectal surgery. I honestly think most people don't mind posting their thoughts for everyone to see (cf. Twitter), but there is definitely a minority that is doing so accidentally, and that's easy to fix.
- 27182818284 16y ago
  The lock is especially powerful if you combine it with lists. For the longest time I didn't know about lists because I didn't use FB's chat or any similar features that revealed lists to me. Being able to quickly block just "Family" or "Old Bosses" via lists and locks is one security change FB made that really works for me. (one big problem, though, is that I don't think there is a way from Facebook mobile to use the lock's functionality.)

kingsley_20 16y ago

I left a comment on your other post (http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1341519 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1341519), but here's a proposal - why not make a privacy app for those who care about, that can monitor their as well as their friends' feeds and help them squash unintentionally public posts about personal details? I'd be willing to collaborate if you're interested.

DanielBMarkham 16y ago
Sounds eerily familiar. http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1337644 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1337644
- kingsley_20 16y ago
  At the level that the intention is to let you use facebook safely, yes. My feeling is that it would be far easier to convince us scared geeks to install a privacy app that helps our friends and family (with little effort on our part) than to get the unwashed masses to do anything about privacy violations.
  - DanielBMarkham 16y ago
    If you use the Facebook condom, as it were, and as a part of that it synchronizes your data with some open source format, then you get safety and privacy, you move your data to an open format, and friends get transparency. Good for all, no?
  - Qz 16y ago
    I don't think it would be hard at all. Privacy could be the new anti-virus.
    - NEPatriot 16y ago
      You can scare the general public pretty easily. All it takes is one example of what could go wrong and all of the sudden there is a boom.

metamemetics 16y ago

? Everyone on facebook can already make these searches. A much simpler way is to go to search, "posts by everyone", and type in watermelon. edit: Clearer instructions: 1. Login to Facebook. 2. Type 'blah' in search and hit enter. 3. When it says no results found, click on "Posts by everyone" in the left bar. Searching everyone's posts has been a feature on facebook for a really long time, it's just somewhat buried in the interface so I'm not surprised if no one noticed it.

coderdude 16y ago
I don't know if this distinction has been made yet or if it even matters, but you would have to be logged-in to crawl that data. Assuming you wanted to compile a dataset of Facebook user data, this is clearly the superior method.

rhl 16y ago

So, not to be too PC, but the OP's example seems really uncalled for. These people are basically facing colorectal cancer, possible metastasis, and probable death. I'd much rather pick up on people whose questionable (idiotic?) behavior combined with a mishandling of FB's privacy settings make them deserve the opprobrium: https://graph.facebook.com/search?q=fuck%20my%20boss&type=post&access_token=2227470867|2.4mSmI_rnZ_Bh6ivmffGAvg__.3600.1273701600-509278436|hZeI7sz30tQ_PBnd-8YIyxLHVig https://graph.facebook.com/search?q=fuck%20my%20boss&typ.... How many of these people do you think actually realize that their boss can (and more and more do) read what they post? edit: the first hit is spot on (hiding the name): "from": { "name": (hidden), "id": (hidden) }, "message": "Oh fuck! Now my boss wants to come over on friday as well. Let's rob his ass!(jk) What do you think the chances are that he has a facebook account and he's readin this?", "link": "http://www.facebook.com/ http://www.facebook.com/, etc...

larrywright 16y ago

Ok, so you wanted to mess around with their URL and you decided to search for "Rectal surgery"? I'm not going to judge, but... wait, no I am going to judge. That's just weird.

mst 16y ago
Right. This is the internet. That was a horribly tame example search - "anal prolapse" would have been far more entertaining.
- LiamAnderson 16y ago
  Ok, who else just searched for "anal prolapse?"

megablast 16y ago

Just hoping that Flickr doesn't let me do that, not willing to find out.

pyman 16y ago

If Twitter allows to search public statuses, then it's fine. If Facebook allows to search public statuses, then the world is doomed. Utterly nonsense. If you don't like it, don't use it.