Facebook had an 'Anonymous Login' feature that it never launched
One of the most startling revelations of Facebook's ongoing Cambridge Analytica controversy is just how easy it was for a third-party developer to access millions of people's personal data without their knowledge -- even if they hadn't downloaded the app themselves.
That's because Facebook's policies prior to 2014 were much more lax than they are today. At the time, apps could scrape data from both their users and the friends of those users, unless you had your privacy setting sufficiently locked down.
The company actually built an "Anonymous Login" tool that was specifically created so that Facebook users could log into third-party services without making all of their data available to developers.
But the once-hyped feature never launched. Facebook quietly killed the project, allegedly due to lack of interest.
SEE ALSO:Everything you need to know about the Cambridge Analytica controversyThat wasn't supposed to be the case, though. Anonymous Login was one of the first new features announced at Facebook's annual F8 developer conference in 2014, billed as part of a new effort to put "people first."
"We know that some people are scared of pressing this blue button," Zuckerberg said, referring to the now-ubiquitous "login in with Facebook" button. "We don't ever want anyone to be surprised about how they're sharing on Facebook, that's not good for anyone."
The solution: an alternative Facebook login that would allow users to sign up to use an app without handing over personal data to the developer. Called Anonymous Login, the tool offered the same ease of use as the normal Facebook login, but Facebook would keep your identity anonymous to the developer.
Facebook's 'Anonymous Login' feature that never launched.Credit: facebook"The idea are is that even if you don't want an app to know who you are yet, you still want a streamlined experience of singing in," Zuckerberg said. "This is going to let you try apps without fear."
But even though the feature was showcased prominently during Zuckerberg's keynote, it never launched. Not only that, Facebook barely mentioned it ever again.
The company confirmed that it officially killed the feature in August 2015, 16 months after the initial announcement, due to lack of interest from developers. As Recode reported that year, there was little incentive for developers to adopt the login feature.
Developers, much like Facebook, love data. The more they know about their users, the more effectively they can target them with ads, or figure out how to get them to spend more time in their apps. This is impossible to do without knowing their actual identity.
But it also seems that Facebook did very little to encourage developers to adopt the feature, either. It never launched more widely beyond the initial group of developers, for one. And, despite touting it as part of a new "people first" approach, the company didn't seem to care much at the end of they day whether it was actually used.
To be clear, Anonymous Login couldn't have prevented the Cambridge Analytica fiasco. By all accounts, the data in question had already been obtained by the time Facebook introduced the feature.
But it's an idea that's worth revisiting knowing now what we should have known then about the consequences of handing over all our data to Facebook's developers so willingly. At a time when distrust of Facebook, and the services that plug into it, is at an all-time high, having a feature like Anonymous Login could help users feel like they have some semblance of control over their data.
Featured Video For You
Here's 5 tips for Spring cleaning your digital footprint
-
Yoon approves labor minister's appointmentTrump spotted holding list of ways to sound human while talking to shooting survivorsLeon Neyfakh on Slow Burn, Slate’s new podcast on Watergate.我市省级认定企业技术中心达到13家Kamala Harris’ ridiculous problem with the political press.The Slate Plus Digest with reading recommendations from Slate and around the internet.Watch Leslie Jones and Adam Rippon's funny figure skating commentaryThe weirdest things Russian trolls did to swing the 2016 electionSports minister says audits into football, badminton federations set to conclude in Sept.N. Korea bans tours to DMZ amid expectations for Kim
- ·Who is the Dark Wizard in 'The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power' Season 2?
- ·PSG squeeze into French Cup final on penalties
- ·Dortmund to wait on Haaland's fitness for German Cup final
- ·Daily tax chat 4: Is there $350 billion under the couch cushion?
- ·Garmin Fenix 8 vs. Apple Watch Ultra: The Fenix wins big on battery life
- ·New virus cases rebound to over 400 ahead of 1st rollout of vaccine this week
- ·Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir watch a montage of their 20
- ·禄段古荔开摘!跨越千年的甜,就在茂南!
- ·Which is Faster for Gaming, Windows 10 or Windows 11?
- ·Sejong University cleared of corruption allegations
- ·Olympic curling is a great way to trick your children into cleaning the house
- ·[Newsmaker] Claims of past school violence sweep sports, showbiz
- ·Pixel 9 Pro XL hands
- ·David Harbour actually did the Hopper dance with penguins and all is right with the world
- ·Djokovic fumes at umpire in rain
- ·'Players' views must be respected after Palestine flag display'
- ·'Black Myth: Wukong' PS5 review in progress: A potential masterpiece
- ·Anthony Kennedy’s equal rights rulings prior to Cakeshop should have been easy to predict.
- ·The Slate Plus Digest with reading recommendations from Slate and around the internet.
- ·January sees record drop in no. of restaurant, hotel workers amid pandemic
- ·高温难耐,工会驿站化身“清凉小屋”
- ·Don't freak out about the latest scary screen time study
- ·Australian gov't warns released student not to return to North Korea
- ·Greta Thunberg let Leonardo DiCaprio take an Instagram pic with her
- ·How do you make safe, cheap nuclear reactors? Bury them a mile deep
- ·Greta Thunberg let Leonardo DiCaprio take an Instagram pic with her
- ·Smiley face on Mars is a telltale sign of its past
- ·Nadal off to winning start in 10th Italian Open title bid
- ·Today in conservative media: Tax cuts for the rich are a moral necessity.
- ·S. Korea makes final check on vaccine deployment plan in mock drill
- ·US Open 2024 livestream: How to watch US Open tennis for free
- ·Ending the state
- ·禄段古荔开摘!跨越千年的甜,就在茂南!
- ·年销售额突破4亿元!新雨润打造“顺德味”有三大秘诀丨对话中国预制菜百强企业②
- ·Sports minister says audits into football, badminton federations set to conclude in Sept.
- ·The college major meme will roast you no matter what you studied