Older Facebook Apps May Still Have Unfettered Access to Your Data

If you're an avid reader of Switched, it's probably not news to you that Facebook apps are to be eyed with suspicion and carefully managed. What you may not know, however, is that even seemingly trustworthy but older applications might need to be booted from your profile. Before Facebook's massive privacy overhauls, many apps were simply granted free access to your data. Older versions of apps from YouTube, Digg and Delicious -- along with all of those apps that let you send hugs, cupcakes and other virtual paraphernalia -- often required that you give them unfettered access to your profile information, including relationship status, photos and friend lists. Clearly, these apps don't need that information to serve their purposes.

We've covered how to check your privacy settings before, but it bears repeating here. Click on "privacy settings" under the "account" menu. Toward the bottom of the page, you'll see a link for 'Apps and Websites,' under which you'll find all the information you need, including the ability to remove apps. To check an app's permissions, simply click on the name. If you have an older version of an app installed, and still want to use it, simply remove the app and re-add it. Many apps, like Digg and YouTube, have newer versions whose access to your data is much more restricted. They haven't been updated automatically, though; you'll have to manually remove the old versions first.