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... so if the app including the SDK has permission to access location data, the SDK could be passing that location data to Facebook?
by harryf 6y ago
... so if the app including the SDK has permission to access location data, the SDK could be passing that location data to Facebook?
- layoutIfNeeded 6y agoYes.
- akmarinov 6y agoNot only could it do that, but it also totally does do that
- yreg 6y agoDidn't they also use to home in information about surrounding bluetooth devices? When iOS 13 beta dropped, half of the apps suddenly asked for bluetooth permissions because Google/FB SDKs attempted to use it on app launch.
- Nextgrid 6y agoNot sure about Bluetooth devices, but the Facebook SDK definitely phones home with some system data and generates an unique identifier on first launch which is then included every further interaction the SDK has. Both of these enable fingerprinting and persistent tracking.
- bsenftner 6y agoThe fact that we as in industry and we as citizens of free nations do not end these operations, terminate their corporate charters and throw the responsible in jail is indicator #1 that freedom (not the GOP free-dumb) as we know it is in it's death rattle.
- wolco 6y agoWhy are people using the facebook sdk? What does it give them?
- mromanuk 6y agoI'm using it for realtime analytics (dashboard like mixpanel) also this brings authentication and other FB Integration
- berkes 6y agoWhen we looked at it, we saw several reasons, all of which are dubious at best: 1. It is required for a "login with Facebook" feature, apparently. I'd presume this goes for other feautures that integrate with facebook, such as "invite from your friends" or "share on facebook(messenger)". 2. It gives access to metrics, when added to your own, greatly enrich your own data collection. 3. It is required when working with Facebook ads - though I would not know how this ties in with mobile apps: on web it is clearer (where you are required to host "the pixel" on your website in order to have ads on facebook link to that website.) 4. It is feature rich, so as a pure SDK, it offers neat utilities; though for each of these, there are better alternatives found in separate libs.
- harryf 6y agoExtending point 2, it’s essential if you’re running ads on Facebook and want to know if clicks on the ad in Facebook bring the user through to the app - ie so you can be sure you got a real conversion
- yalok 6y ago@harryf there’s a way to send ads attribution via server API, so no need to have client side FB SDK for that
- scarface74 6y agoSo yes the definition of “freedom” is “give the government more power over both app developers who voluntarily integrate the SDK and users who voluntarily download the app”.
- AlexandrB 6y ago> voluntarily I don't remember apps listing the SDKs they use. As a humble user, how do I voluntarily choose whether to download an app or not based on their usage of Facebook's garbage? Edit: You can't have it both ways. You can't remove a bunch of power and information from the user in the name of "safety" and "UX" and then claim that users are making a bunch of choices they can't possibly be informed about "voluntarily"
- scarface74 6y agoIn that case, pass laws forcing disclosure and you still let the users decide.