Last Monday we did a story detailing that Facebook keeps tracking it’s users even after they log off from the website. Facebook denied it. Fair enough.
Facebook wasn’t contented with this plain denial and it went on further. A Facebook employee, who directly manages the login system at Facebook commented (maybe he was asked to) on a blog (same blog that revealed the flaw) that Facebook has never taken any interest in tracking it’s users. He says that other major internet companies may track their users – but Facebook doesn’t. Never, he almost swore on this.
Let’s read this exact words from Facebook employee:
Our cookies aren’t used for tracking. They just aren’t. Instead, we use our cookies to either provide custom content, help improve or maintain our service, or protect our users and our service (e.g. defending denial of service attacks or requiring a second authentication factor for a login from a suspicious location).
He wrote plenty of other BS, which meant nothing but was confusing people with irrelevant information.
I mean according to him, these cookies are to provide custom content only – which is not tracking. He explains that purpose is just to keep a record of a user to make sure that custom content is provided to him – and we don’t track anyone, anywhere (especially on other website or when they are logged out0.
Probably the guy needs to learn the meaning of tracking.
So if Facebook was indeed not tracking anything, then why did they Fix the cookies issue? On one hand you are saying that there’s nothing wrong – but at the same time you are taking corrective measures? Isn’t it conflicting?
Even worse, if Facebook doesn’t track or they don’t want to track users, then why did it apply for this patent application that deals with procedures for tracking information about the activities of users of a social networking system while on another domains?
This instance uncovers the cheating policies that Facebook relies upon without any moral obligation, ethics or shame.
via Uncrunched
i love u Amir bhai when u write against facebook.love u.and i hate Shahid saleem ab yahan bhi ajai ga shaitaan ki tarah,aur sab ka deemagh khai ga
LOL @ Shaitaan :D
sahi kaha bilkul aap ne, i also hate sahid saleem’s comments.
But Shahid Saleem is mostly right.
Readers who follow international Telecom/IT news stories, might have seen report in the past few days in American press that Facebook and Google provide information to government agencies. However, we are supposed to believe that is done only for a higher cause and to protect people from bad guys.
Bloomberg Business News reported on Oct. 1 — Facebook Inc., the world’s most popular social-networking service, was accused by users of the site in a class-action lawsuit of secretly tracking their Web activity after they log off.
The lawsuit filed by Perrin Aikens Davis of Illinois seeks class, or group, status on behalf of other Facebook users living in the U.S. Davis seeks unspecified damages and a court order blocking the tracking based on alleged violations of federal laws, including restrictions on wiretapping, as well as computer fraud and abuse statutes.
FB was a lie from the start.
My question: who cares?
Hasn’t the whole web been tracking us since it were created? :)
So, why so serious. I wrote a detailed post on Facebook Privacy Hoopla back in January, do give it a read if you like http://saadhamid.com/the-facebook-privacy-hoopla
Gist: Never put something private on the web because one way or the other, someone is watching it, so if it leaks, then don’t whine about it.
Who Cares from Saad?
Can you say the same about express tribune :P ?
Lol :p baee sach baat hai. To each his own
I agree with Saad. Who cares? Rather than trying to start another ‘hate FB’ mess, why not sue those idiots for a few million dollars like everyone else around the world would?
Fact of the matter is, EVERY major website is actually doing the exact same thing. That doesn’t mean that people jump at it like this. Just don’t save any private data on these websites, and make sure that you clear your cookies properly every time you visit a website like this, or browse in ‘InPrivate’ or ‘Incognito’ mode.
yeah saad hamid you are quite right, but the only thing we can do is try to create awareness specially among the youth of pakistan, i dont know why these teenagers dont listen, i my self tried alot and the only result i got is different type of arguments, comments.
“You are Conservative” the only sentence i got from many teenagers in response of this facebook discussion… lolz
Yar sari batein choro WHERE THE HECK IS SHAHID SALEEMI, DENGUE TO NAHI hogaya usko bari dair se comment nahi keya!!!
I am not surprised.
Why? It’s very simple: Facebook has to make money. Running all those servers is not free. If they don’t charge people for accounts, they need to get it somehow. And that way is advertising.
Why do you think Google gives gmail for free, Yahoo gives their Mail, etc? Out of the kindness of their hearts? Of course not! They make money from ads they display along email. In fact, Google makes most of their money from ads.
It doesn’t matter if it’s Facebook, or Millat Facebook: the money has to come from somewhere.
matlab k shahid saleem ko dangue nahi howa aur woh theek thaak hay
lol!
hahahhaha shram kro :)
Am I on propakistani.com or shahidsaleem.com ?
abay yar main bhi is khush fehmi main tha k Shahid saleem ko dengue ho gaya ho ga,likin ye tu yahan agaya,ab is ko reply karney ka thaika kon ley ga, q k is ko tu kuch samjh hi nahi ata hai. demagh ki lassi bananey main professional hai.
Not me at least…. :-/
If we users give you $20 a month (or whatever your VPS costs are) will you turn off the ads?
don’t like it, don’t buy it….simple, Just stop using the FB….Funny how we love to complaints about everything
Try browsing this site (propakistani) with adblock enabled and with adblock disabled. It’s is NEXT TO USELESS without adblock and click-to-flash.
Facebook does not have that many ads all over their pages. Yet, they need to make money, and they have to come up with ingenious ways to do that.
Really, it is nothing special, like Saad said. If you have been on the internet for a long time you have heard the SAME exact thing about doubleclick, before it was bought by Google. And in fact, what about everyone who puts site tracking code on their pages (for Google Analytics or other site tracking sites)? Don’t you think you’re being tracked there, too??
I don’t hear anyone crying about Google. Why not?
tu app ka matlab hay k paisay kamanay k liye koi kuch bhi kar sakta hay? iss ka matlab hay k app gun lay kar bank main ghuss saktay hain? kyun kay at last sab paisa hi hay?
— tu app ka matlab hay k paisay kamanay k liye koi kuch bhi kar sakta hay?
I don’t see where I said that? I said it’s NOTHING NEW, internet advertising a business model that EVERYONE EXPLOITS, even propakistani.
— iss ka matlab hay k app gun lay kar bank main ghuss saktay hain?
Sir why be so crude? Better to get into government and then get a loan for free (not paid back). Happens all around you in Pakistan yet you do not take to streets in protest?
Agreed. It isn’t just these two websites. It’s almost every website on the internet. They use cookies to save user preferences and such, as well as all this.
— So if Facebook was indeed not tracking anything, then why did they Fix the cookies issue?
Did you even READ the article you linked to? It explained every cookie that isn’t cleared, and explained why they fixed the problem with some of the cookies: they said it was a bug set by the photo pages.
Now, has anyone shown evidence that the cookies they say they fixed (a_user) was used for tracking? NO ONE. In fact several years ago I thought about creating a cookie at login that isn’t destroyed at logout to find out if any of my users were creating double logins to bypass limits. Are you going to say what I wanted to do was WRONG? Please explain why you think that.
Next, did you READ the patent? It says nothing about login or logout procedures, or cookies destroyed or kept in the browser. In fact, it’s a stupid patent. If I login to Google Plus and then visit a web page with Google Adsense, guss what. GOOGLE DOES EXACTLY THE SAME THING THAT YOU CLAIM FACEBOOK DOES.
I await your anti-Google screed.
ap facebook ko bura kehnay par aitraz kar rahay ho ya google ko bura na kehnay par?
— ap facebook ko bura kehnay par aitraz kar rahay ho ya google ko bura na kehnay par?
Well, taht is my question to blog admin.
MR shahzada $aleem COOL DOWN … LASSI peo shaid k appka mind appni jagah wapis aa jay =)) plz try it….
Shahid Saleem is right.
Why can’t you people get over your dumb heads and understand simple logic!
Precisely.
I have an open question for everyone here, including the admin. When you talk about Facebook tracking us, what exactly are they tracking?
I am is indonesian people.
i am is hate facebook. Muslims hate Facebook.
At times i feel that such sensational stuff is published unnecessarily, you can easily restrict cookies to safeguard yourself from such exposures, basic stuff.
Further, I will appreciate if before posting stuff some guidelines/checklist is followed for e.g.;
– It should not be copied from other sources. if it is then proper reference should be given – Professional ethics
– It should have strong facts/references, publishing something by making a story out of context will not help readers a lot.
– It adds positive contribution to readers knowledge, masala type publications will not help much
– If you get something from inside sources, publish them as is, dont add/modify such story based on your own interpretation or to create sensation
Stuff like this, i hope this input is taken professionally not just for the sake of criticism.
regards.
I have given up on that area, reader. I just go with the flow.
If you’re looking for proper tech journalism my friend, you’ve come to the wrong place. A lot of people like ProPakistani simply because of ‘news pieces’ like this one.
I really don’t believe Kay why people are so concerned with security in a social networking . . . I mean its just for to socially attach with other people . . . is there really any v.v.v personal privacy issue which ppl dnt wnt to be xposed ? ? ? ? ?
Facebook should be banned same as in China, Russia & Iran……. Now please koi human rights wala apni bakwas le k na ajae yahan… one extreme is mullahism & the other extreme is the human rights laws…. We need to sort out path in between the two… Aitadaal
Asad sahab, why ban em when we can sue em for millions of dollars like the rest of the world?
I still don’t believe that facebook do such a thing. Facebook is the powerful media. Social Networking is not the problem but some small minded people are spreading bad news about Facebook.
Facebook tracks cookies because Pakistan is a terriorest Country. USA don’t believe in Pakistan because in 9/11 ISI and Pakistan was involved.
I think facebook should be banned and you also should be banned from this website :) ! Go to Hell >
@imrankhan810 I think you don’t want to accept the reality. To inform you that National Geographic Channel also said that.
:) yes you are right ! Also see the video below
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o3hu3iG8B2g&feature=related
Thanks.
i thought i told you to get lost Mr Zafar
Never trust on facebook, FB was a lie from the early days.