"FB Crosses the Line with New Mandatory Messenger App:

[St_Francis]

Link to explanation

I don’t use FB, but some of the young 'uns in the family do, so I thought other parents might want to know about this. It may be one of those wild rumors or may not be: I do not onow enough to evaluate…

 

[pensmama87]

I am not incredibly tech savvy and I no longer use a smartphone, but the permissions listed in the article are actually pretty standard for all apps, not just Facebook. Things like accessing contact lists or the camera or microphone are necessary in order for the app to function as intended.

That doesn’t mean I don’t think privacy issues are important, especially with Facebook, but I do think the concern is overstated in this article.

 

[Lamentation]

Link to explanation

I don’t use FB, but some of the young 'uns in the family do, so I thought other parents might want to know about this. It may be one of those wild rumors or may not be: I do not onow enough to evaluate…

I’m a computer programmer, I have done Android apps, and I can tell you the Messenger app needs all those permissions for what it does. Let me explain:

• Change the state of network connectivity
  This is so if you have wireless turned off, they can suggest you turn it on to reduce network charges.
• Call phone numbers and send SMS messages
  Messenger allows you to call people from their application.
• Record audio, and take pictures and videos, at any time
  Needs access to the camera for video chat, to send pictures.
• Read your phone’s call log, including info about incoming and outgoing calls
  Messenger can suggest Facebook friends through phone numbers (if you accept, of course), now that they almost require you to have a number associated.
• Read your contact data, including who you call and email and how often
  Messenger can suggest friends based on email address/phone number (if you accept, of course).
• Read personal profile information stored on your device
  Messenger uses this information to temporarily look at contacts associated with your email account (if you accept, of course).
• Get a list of accounts known by the phone, or other apps you use
  See above.

Checking your contacts may seem intrusive, but it is an “opt-in” feature, and for those users that want to be “friends” with every single person they meet, it’s a nice feature.

 

[Mkb617]

Facebook is a free product nothing about it is mandatory.

 

[JimG]

Sure, Facebook is a free product–to users. It’s not the users who pay. It’s the advertisers and app makers who are charged for access to FB users. The users are the product being sold.

 

[Mkb617]

Exactly!!! And if you don’t like the way they use your information or what they want from you to use different aspects of it you are completely free to opt out of FB