Top Ten Facebook Applications Expose User Data to Third-Parties

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If you thought you were safe when you logged in to Facebook to check up on your farm in Farmville (you people know who you are), guess again. As it turns out, some of Facebook’s most popular games have been uploading user information to third-party companies, with the number effected rising into the tens of millions. This includes users who have their privacy settings effectively placing their Facebook page in lock down.

In an investigative report, the Wall Street Journal found that all of Facebook’s top ten apps have been uploading user information to third-party companies, which in turn use the information to spam the hell out of you, and some even use the information to track your web history.

Facebook and the developers of the apps (Zynga being the most prominent) both deny any knowledge of this happening, but with Farmville logging an astounding 63 million active users a month alone, the truth is that these apps contain a veritable gold mine of information. In addition, the WSJ also found that three of the top apps – with Farmville being listed again – are uploading information about your friends, as well.

Maybe you just do what I’ve done all along: skip the Facebook apps, play some real video games instead.