Facebook uses its apps to track users it thinks could threaten employees and offices

The latest Facebook scandal should compel apps to be more transparent: analysts

App makers must be more transparent in the wake of the latest Facebook (FB) scandal. It was recently revealed that some third-party apps shared user data with the social network without a user's knowledge or consent. Many users who download an app either don't bother to peruse the app's privacy policies or simply can't because the policies are tucked away in an area that's hard to find. The apps in question use a Facebook analytics tool called App Events that records user activity. That's because the social network gleans data from a wide range of sources, not just from apps, for its targeted advertising.

Facebook uses its apps to track users it thinks could threaten employees and offices

moreover from Facebook picked up the threat, pulled the user's data and determined he was in the same country as the office he was targeting. The incident is representative of the steps Facebook takes to keep its offices, executives and employees protected, according to more than a dozen former Facebook employees who spoke with CNBC. Several of the former employees questioned the ethics of Facebook's security strategies, with one of them calling the tactics "very Big Brother-esque." That means that if just 0.01 percent of users make a threat, Facebook is still dealing with 270,000 potential security risks. "Our physical security team exists to keep Facebook employees safe," a Facebook spokesman said in a statement.

The latest Facebook scandal should compel apps to be more transparent: analysts

App makers must be more transparent in the wake of the latest Facebook (FB) scandal. It was recently revealed that some third-party apps shared user data with the social network without a user's knowledge or consent. Many users who download an app either don't bother to peruse the app's privacy policies or simply can't because the policies are tucked away in an area that's hard to find. The apps in question use a Facebook analytics tool called App Events that records user activity. That's because the social network gleans data from a wide range of sources, not just from apps, for its targeted advertising.

referring to Facebook picked up the threat, pulled the user's data and determined he was in the same country as the office he was targeting. The incident is representative of the steps Facebook takes to keep its offices, executives and employees protected, according to more than a dozen former Facebook employees who spoke with CNBC. Several of the former employees questioned the ethics of Facebook's security strategies, with one of them calling the tactics "very Big Brother-esque." That means that if just 0.01 percent of users make a threat, Facebook is still dealing with 270,000 potential security risks. "Our physical security team exists to keep Facebook employees safe," a Facebook spokesman said in a statement.

Facebook uses its apps to track users it thinks could threaten employees and offices