Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB) Users Warned About Most Used Words App

Still, consumers can remove permissions except for their public profile and timeline posts and still play the quiz, although Comparitech notes that most users may not bother to do that. "He added that the company had "adjusted our scope of data request to the minimum requirement to produce each separate content" as of Monday morning", in reaction to the privacy concerns, and that Vonvon has "nothing to sell" to third-party companies as it doesn't store personal information anyway.

"The way Facebook has built its platform makes it relatively easy for online apps like Vonvon's to quickly access a wide range of personal information from users' social media accounts, and then share that data with pretty much anyone", Carmi Levy, technology analyst said.

The app began clogging people's Facebook, Inc (NASDAQ:FB) accounts last week when an English version of the app was unleashed. In the first five days of its launch, "Most Used Words" app in Facebook gained 17.5 million users. But aside from sharing their inclinations and hangups, they may also be unwittingly sharing their personal data with the company behind the app.

He also added that in the case of other quizzes from the company such as: "What do people talk behind my back?", the app asks for the user's hometown and school so it may show close friends in the results, but the information isn't stored into their databases. While hovering around private information, it also gathers information about the computer one might be using including IP address and browser. Even after you don't use the app, Vonvon is able to "use any non-personally-identifying information" you provide it with.

If you're on Facebook (), chances are you've seen friends post brightly colored word clouds of the most-used terms in their statuses. It may end up selling the information without even asking permission from users.

Furthermore, this gathered information can be used on Vonvon's (the company that developed the app) servers at "any location", and if the information is stored in a different country, it may not have the same privacy protection as it does in your country.

Vonvon's privacy policy stipulates that the company may use your personal information (for statistics, the text claims) even after ending the membership with the site.