By: Chalyn Kaufman, Staff Writer
Recently, many privacy concerns have surfaced in regards to the new Facebook Messenger App. In order to send and receive messages from your mobile device, Facebook now requires that you install a standalone version specifically for the purpose of chat functionality. One might question what the significance is in downloading the new app. After all, thousands of smartphone or tablet owners install new apps daily without a second thought. These users are unaware that by downloading the app they are blindly accepting the terms and conditions of the company who owns the app. The buzz over the new Messenger App was created from the Facebook Messenger’s Android mobile app permissions. The alarming access to users’ personal data is explicitly stated within the permissions. This shocking realization led consumers to question just how much personal information they are willing to sacrifice for the use of a “free” app.
As you can imagine, Facebook has received a lot of backlash from the app. It explicitly states on Facebook’s website that the Messenger App has permission to access all your contacts and even directly call the numbers on your phone among many other permissions.[1] Facebook has explicitly listed in the permissions that by downloading the Facebook Messenger App, you are allowing Facebook to access your contacts, phone history, text messages, photos, video, among many other mobile functions.[2] There has been an overwhelming reaction on social media to these permissions. Many noteworthy publications, such as Huffington Post, are even encouraging people to delete the app.[3] Ultimately, the question is, are people willing to give up what little Internet privacy rights they have in order to access the free applications?
Although the permissions on the Android for the Facebook Messenger App are stated more expressly than in most cases, the permissions Facebook asks to use are nothing new. Permissions such as these are listed in the contract for almost every “free” app; the explicit language required by Android just made the public more aware of the privacy invasion. No app we use is truly free. “Free” online apps are paid for by the relinquishment of personal data such as name, location, browsing history, etc.[4] Thereafter, mobile developers and social networks charge advertisers to serve up highly targeted ads to specific groups of people.[5] These businesses rely on our personal data. This symbiotic relationship is known as, “The Symbiotic Web.”[6] To some, it might pay off to have more personalized online advertisements. Others may feel this way of advertising is infringing on their privacy rights. Either way, it is indisputable that a large amount of personal information is being released to unknown sources.
Ultimately, this Facebook Messenger App controversy has forced many to focus on what little is left of our Internet privacy. Arguably, Internet privacy has never mattered more.[7] There is no way to avoid the Internet to participate in everyday life. Each day, technology is improving and expanding, only incorporating more Internet use into our lives. What happens when we no longer have any autonomy in regards to Internet use?[8] If people continue to let companies have direct control over their devices, such as the Facebook Messenger App, how emboldened will developers become in the future?[9] Can Internet privacy only diminish from here on out? These are questions that we do not have control over. What we DO have control over, is the ability to look over the terms and agreements before installing an app or downloading a program onto your device. Make sure the cost of “free” is worth it before you relinquish your personal data.
[1] Facebook™, http://www.facebook.com (last visited October 8, 2014).
[2] Id.
[3] Sam Fiorella, The Insidiousness of Facebook Messenger’s Android Mobile App Permissions (Updated), Huffington Post (August 11, 2014, 5:59 pm EDT), http://www.huffingtonpost.com/sam-fiorella/the-insidiousness-of-face_b_4365645.html.
[4] Id.
[5] Id.
[6] Paul Bernal, Internet Privacy Rights: Rights to Protect Autonomy (2014).
[7] Id.
[8] Id.
[9] Fiorella, supra.
