Lately, Facebook has been at the center of scandal over the last few weeks. However, the controversy surrounding Facebook’s privacy issues is not new. It is likely that you have seen posts on Facebook about quiz results. One of the most popular quiz apps on Facebook was Most Used Words by Vonvon.me. Millions of users shared their results and for a few days, it seemed like everyone on Facebook was sharing this quiz. In fact, articles about it were published on many popular media outlets. The problem is that by taking the quiz, users gave up a great deal of information about themselves without even knowing about the company behind the quiz and what it intends to do with the information.
Like other quiz apps in Facebook, there are major concerns about the way in which your privacy is handled. The information that you are giving to Vonvon when you take their Most Used Words quiz includes:
- Entire friend list
- Name, age, profile picture, sex, birthday and public info
- Your posts on your timeline
- Your photos and the photos you are tagged in
- Hometown and current city
- Education history
- Your likes history
- Information about the device you are using including language and browser
- IP address
As you can see, this is quite scary as it means that you are giving away data that will easily compromise your privacy.
The issues with the privacy policy
Many people may think that since they have no compromising information to hide or they don’t mind to have their privacy compromised. However, the app doesn’t only collect your information, but it also gathers a considerable amount of information about your friends. There are a lot of issues with Vonvon’s privacy policy, which is why it is better to avoid its quiz. If you previously took the quiz, the bad news is that there is no way to go back as you already agreed to give your data to Vonvon. When you take the quiz, the terms state that the company can continue using any non-personally identifying data as per their privacy policy. The information is used for statistics, analysis and other similar purposes. While Vonvon states that it doesn’t sell your data to third parties, it is unclear in which jurisdiction it is kept.
Unfortunately, when it comes to games and entertainment apps, most people don’t read the privacy policy. The company states that it won’t share your personal information without your permission, but by taking the quiz, you are pretty much granting permission since it is mentioned in the privacy policy. In other words, they state that your information won’t be shared with third parties unless you have been informed about it and they take it that by referring to this in the privacy policy, it is enough to assume that you have given permission. Of course, Vonvon is not the only company that processes user’s data and that uses it for analysis or other purposes. However, it is important that you read and understand the privacy policy in every case.
To be fair, Vonvon offers the option to remove all permissions, except public profile and Facebook timeline posts, which are needed to play the quiz. The thing is that most people don’t even take the time to adjust or even check the settings before taking the quiz. However, there are still people who want to keep their information private and for them, the best option would be to avoid this type of quizzes altogether. There are many apps (not only this quiz by Vonvon) that become very popular and suddenly everyone is using them without thinking how it may affect their privacy.
As you may have seen in the news over the last few weeks, many Facebook users are angry after it was revealed that it allowed a third-party app to get the data of millions of users. The truth is that Facebook has become so popular that for many people is nearly impossible to think about leaving this social media platform. It can be useful to stay in touch with friends and family, and while it is free to use, the cost can be high in terms of privacy. It is important that you are careful when using Facebook and avoid apps that require Facebook authentication. In the apps section of your Facebook profile, you can see and remove the apps that you don’t trust. If you love quizzes, try websites that allow you to play without having to log into your Facebook account and grant permissions. If you want to use these type of quizzes, at least make sure that you read the privacy policy carefully and check what permissions are required.
How to protect your privacy
If you are concerned about your privacy and want to keep your data protected from eavesdroppers, companies and hackers, there are some steps that you can take. Of course, it is important that you are careful about the information that you provide online. Apart from being mindful of the information that you share, it is important that you take measures like using a VPN service. This technology encrypts all the traffic from your computer or mobile device and it sends it through a secure server in the location you choose.
When your data is encrypted, it is more difficult for intercept your information because the data is scrambled. Not even your ISP will be able to see what you do, which means that your privacy is protected. By connecting to a VPN server, your real IP address is disguised, which adds anonymity. Others won’t be able to determine your location or see your IP address and trace you. In addition, it is possible to use a VPN to unblock content that is not available in your location. Overall a VPN is a versatile solution to enhance the security and privacy of your connection.
Another thing that you can do is to install extensions on your browser that prevent companies and advertisers from tracking you. This includes Privacy Badger or Disconnect. You may also consider HTTPS Anywhere, which is an extension that makes your browser load the secure, encrypted versions of websites whenever they are available. For increased anonymity, your best choice is to use the Tor browser. In any case, make sure that you read carefully the privacy policy of the apps and services that you use and be suspicious of any app that requires more information than needed.
