Facebook admitted to accidentally sharing users’ confidential data with hundreds of third-party app developers even after their access period to user data had expired.
In 2018, the social media network had rolled out a feature that automatically barred an app from receiving any updates or information if a user is inactive in the last three months.
But a glitch allowed developers to see personal information such as gender and preferred language for a longer time than they were allowed to, the company said.
“Apps continued to receive the data that people had previously authorised, even if it appeared they hadn’t used the app in the last 90 days,” Konstantinos Papamiltiadis, vice president of platform partnerships at Facebook, said on Wednesday.
“We estimate this issue enabled approximately 5,000 developers to continue receiving information, beyond 90 days of inactivity as recognised by our systems.”
The social media network said that it has now fixed the glitch.
“We fixed the issue the day after we found it. We will keep investigating and will continue to prioritise transparency around any major updates,” Mr Papamiltiadis said.
Facebook also said the developers play an important role in protecting people’s data and it is working to make them accountable in case of any breach in the future.
“We are also requiring developers to be accountable for the ways they use data and comply with our policies … Our review of apps on our platform is ongoing, and we will continue to make improvements,”Mr Papamiltiadis said.
The California-based company also issued new terms and conditions for developers on Wednesday.
The new terms limit the information developers can share with third parties without explicit consent from people. They also strengthened data security requirements when developers must delete data.
“These changes are just some of the ways we are improving our platform and making more trustworthy experiences for people using apps on Facebook,” Mr Papamiltiadis said.
Last June, Facebook was called out for collecting confidential details of 187,000 users, some as young as 13, through its now non-operational app Research that paid users for wide-ranging access to their data.
This followed a security breach in Facebook's platform that affected nearly 50 million accounts.
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
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Five expert hiking tips
Always check the weather forecast before setting off
Make sure you have plenty of water
Set off early to avoid sudden weather changes in the afternoon
Wear appropriate clothing and footwear
Take your litter home with you
The Transfiguration
Director: Michael O’Shea
Starring: Eric Ruffin, Chloe Levine
Three stars
The specs: 2019 Audi A7 Sportback
Price, base: Dh315,000
Engine: 3.0-litre V6
Transmission: Seven-speed automatic
Power: 335hp @ 5,000rpm
Torque: 500Nm @ 1,370rpm
Fuel economy 5.9L / 100km
Five hymns the crowds can join in
Papal Mass will begin at 10.30am at the Zayed Sports City Stadium on Tuesday
Some 17 hymns will be sung by a 120-strong UAE choir
Five hymns will be rehearsed with crowds on Tuesday morning before the Pope arrives at stadium
‘Christ be our Light’ as the entrance song
‘All that I am’ for the offertory or during the symbolic offering of gifts at the altar
‘Make me a Channel of your Peace’ and ‘Soul of my Saviour’ for the communion
‘Tell out my Soul’ as the final hymn after the blessings from the Pope
The choir will also sing the hymn ‘Legions of Heaven’ in Arabic as ‘Assakiroo Sama’
There are 15 Arabic speakers from Syria, Lebanon and Jordan in the choir that comprises residents from the Philippines, India, France, Italy, America, Netherlands, Armenia and Indonesia
The choir will be accompanied by a brass ensemble and an organ
They will practice for the first time at the stadium on the eve of the public mass on Monday evening
The lowdown
Badla
Rating: 2.5/5
Produced by: Red Chillies, Azure Entertainment
Director: Sujoy Ghosh
Cast: Amitabh Bachchan, Taapsee Pannu, Amrita Singh, Tony Luke
Groom and Two Brides
Director: Elie Semaan
Starring: Abdullah Boushehri, Laila Abdallah, Lulwa Almulla
Rating: 3/5
Company profile
Company: Eighty6
Date started: October 2021
Founders: Abdul Kader Saadi and Anwar Nusseibeh
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Hospitality
Size: 25 employees
Funding stage: Pre-series A
Investment: $1 million
Investors: Seed funding, angel investors
Sholto Byrnes on Myanmar politics
Terror attacks in Paris, November 13, 2015
- At 9.16pm, three suicide attackers killed one person outside the Atade de France during a foootball match between France and Germany
- At 9.25pm, three attackers opened fire on restaurants and cafes over 20 minutes, killing 39 people
- Shortly after 9.40pm, three other attackers launched a three-hour raid on the Bataclan, in which 1,500 people had gathered to watch a rock concert. In total, 90 people were killed
- Salah Abdeslam, the only survivor of the terrorists, did not directly participate in the attacks, thought to be due to a technical glitch in his suicide vest
- He fled to Belgium and was involved in attacks on Brussels in March 2016. He is serving a life sentence in France
The five stages of early child’s play
From Dubai-based clinical psychologist Daniella Salazar:
1. Solitary Play: This is where Infants and toddlers start to play on their own without seeming to notice the people around them. This is the beginning of play.
2. Onlooker play: This occurs where the toddler enjoys watching other people play. There doesn’t necessarily need to be any effort to begin play. They are learning how to imitate behaviours from others. This type of play may also appear in children who are more shy and introverted.
3. Parallel Play: This generally starts when children begin playing side-by-side without any interaction. Even though they aren’t physically interacting they are paying attention to each other. This is the beginning of the desire to be with other children.
4. Associative Play: At around age four or five, children become more interested in each other than in toys and begin to interact more. In this stage children start asking questions and talking about the different activities they are engaging in. They realise they have similar goals in play such as building a tower or playing with cars.
5. Social Play: In this stage children are starting to socialise more. They begin to share ideas and follow certain rules in a game. They slowly learn the definition of teamwork. They get to engage in basic social skills and interests begin to lead social interactions.
