Oh, the joys of a Facebook notification. As soon as your phone alerts you, you open up your Facebook app and check out that new message...but it’s not there. So, simply following the instructions on the screen, you click the link to download the “new and improved app” and hit install. That's when you see the huge list for the terms of use. Like most people, you probably accept them without honestly reading any of that long, boring thing with a fancy name and too many words. But what you don’t see is that it needs permission for the camera, microphone, and the ability to record conversations! There is a twist to the terms of use and the myths versus reality begin. Let’s tackle some of these myths to really see what we are looking at.
1. You must absolutely have the Facebook Messenger app: Think about it. The best way, not necessarily the easiest way is to use the mobile site. Inconvenient? Yes. Helpful to avoid some of your activity from potentially being monitored? Absolutely.
2. Facebook requires more privileges than other social media apps: Most social media sites work the same way. Facebook doesn’t actually have more provisions in its terms of service.
3. None of these things actually appear in the terms of service. Read it. Seriously. All of that info is in that document; you clicking "yes" allows them to use all of your posts and updates along with access to your photos.
4. This is only coming up now because of the NSA. Due to the recent escalations between the public and the NSA, people are starting to become skeptical about what is being picked up in digital surveillance and realizing everything they’ve agreed to.
The moral of the story is to read between the lines. For Facebook users, this mistake is now more than ever creating a big scare over something you might have already agreed to.
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