allow ’s take a healthy sodium - dose here , but London’sSunday Timesis allege that Facebook has admitted to reading exploiter ’ text messages . multitude at Facebook supposedly read the private SMS messages of drug user who download the Facebook app on their smartphones .
This was allegedly in grooming for Facebook set in motion their own messaging serve , but it is not know if it still go on today . Or , really , if it take place at all . The Sunday Times clause is very light in the agency of grounds , quoting only unnamed source , and then devolving into a rehashing of every other known privacy concern to footslog the clause .
While it sure would n’t surprise me if it happened — we’ve come to expect this sorting of affair as of later — let ’s hold off on the Aaron’s rod and pitchforks until we have some more substancial cogent evidence . We are attain out to Facebook for a comment , and will update if we hear back . Then we can light up our pitchfork and sharpen our torches . Or something like that . [ Sunday TimesviaTechCrunch ]
UPDATE : Facebook has respond to Business Insider‘s request for a statement , and son is it a mouthful .
There is no reading of user text messages .
On the Android App store , the Facebook app permission include SMS read / write .
The cause it is on there is because we have done some examination ( not with the universal world ) of products that require the SMS part of the earphone to talk to the Facebook App . That ’s what the read&write refer to – the line of communicating demand to integrate the two thing .
Lots of communication apps use these permissions . Think of all those apps that represent as replacement to the build - in sms software .
That ’s not inevitably what we ’re work on . SMS can be used for carrier charge ( where user opt to pay for matter like apps through their earphone bill ) . Again – that ’s not to say we ’re set up this . It ’s just an exemplar of why an app might expend these license . The Sunday Times leap to the conclusion that is was a messaging feature .
Anyway – we have yet to make any such feature uncommitted to the public . ( so the Sunday Times is completely wrong when it says Facebook is read people ’s SMS . untimely on the nomenclature , and faulty on the suggestion that it has been implemented ) .
But Facebook is right to insert this into the Android app permit – because yes , the app technically has the capableness to integrate with the phone ’s SMS system – even if that is just for our own testing .
So , there you have it . As we mistrust , sounds like a lot of set about excited about what is n’t much , or at least is n’t much yet . It attend like they ’re working on a new feature , so we ’ve belike get some clock time before that rolls out , and then we can freak out when we realize that it ’s sell all of our cherished love - letters ( or love - text ) for drug money . Or something . Until them , BOOOOOO to the Sunday Times for trying to trick hoi polloi into make up to say their sensationalized article .
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