Request for permission

Do you know how insecure it might be when you subscribe to any app on your social networking site. I more often see following types of messages in my facebook / orkut updates.

Amita just collected some Green Gems in Treasure Hunt App!
Amita filled their basket with gems and wants to share some with you!
10 hours ago via My World · Comment ·Like Unlike · Get Full Game

John just poured the mud on himself from the Farm !
John has poured three tubs of mud on himself. Now you can also grow fish in your farm. John wants to share some with you!
10 hours ago via Farm Village App · Comment ·Like Unlike · Get Full Game

Nitesh just found a Power Pepper while helping out friends in Coffee Cafe!
Nitesh just stopped by Coffee cafe to help out in the kitchen by lending some spices, and stumbled upon a Power Pepper! Such a helpful soul at heart, he wants to share one with his friends!
11 hours ago via Coffee Cafe · Comment ·Like Unlike · Get the item

My Today's Lucky Number is eight and Lucky Color is orange

You are optimistic, helpful and forward looking at this time.
1 hour ago via Future World App · Comment ·LikeUnlike · Get Full Prediction


These are sample posts which are generated by the third party apps in your facebook. orkut or any other social networking application. You always click these links and subscribe to these apps. Most of them are for timepass, entertainment and fun. But lot of people tend to ignore following very very important message before subscribing to these apps.

Let us zoom in the message which is shown in the above image. The header of the message is read as

"Request for permission"

Farm Village App is requesting permission to do the following

Access my basic information
Includes name, profile picture, gender, networks, user ID, list of friends and any other information I've shared with everyone

Send me email
Farm Village App may email me directly at youremailid@gmail.com

Post to my Wall
Farm Village App may post status messages, notes, photos and videos to my Wall

Access my Profile information
Birthday
Click ALLOW - DON'T ALLOW

Oh my God!.. Yes, you are about to share all your personal profile info to some third party application owners. This information contains the information which you sometimes don't even share with your friends in friends list.

These application owner can simply write a programs to read all the information of the users who have subscribed to their app.

Why do they need this info?
1. They can sell this info for marketing, bulk mailing, spamming.

2. Other social networking apps may also want to read the info. You might have received the invitation to join some other social networking site which you have not even heard of. The invitation is from your friend in your facebook/orkut friend. The image of the friend is same as the image which he has uploaded in his facebook/orkut profile. If you will ask to your friend, he will say even he has not even heard of it.

3. This information can be very well used to hack your email ids. It might answer the secret security questions and answers for your account.

4. They can access and view your photos. Can't say for what!!

These are some of the reasons which I know. There might be some more which even I don't know.

What's the role of Social Networking site's role in this?
Nothing. They already have put the disclaimer in their website and you have agreed to it when you sign in into their website.

The third party applications can only see information you've already made visible to everyone. To access more, applications have to ask for permission for each piece of information, and it can only be information that's needed for them to work. So the rest of your private information is shared only when you click on "Allow" button, like the one in above image. So it's not the facebook or orkut shares it. Its you who does it.

So, be careful when you subscribe to any social networking app.