Mikey Campbell
Video conferencing service Zoom on Friday issued an update for its iOS app, removing an SDK that sent users' data to Facebook without their express consent.
On Thursday, a report from Motherboard revealed Zoom's iOS app was sharing user analytics data with Facebook without noting the practice in its privacy policy.
Specifically, the app used Facebook's SDK to integrate "Login with Facebook," a feature that provides quick and easy sign-in capabilities. By including the SDK, however, Zoom automatically connected to and shared information with the Facebook Graph API, even if a user did not maintain Facebook account.
The company also failed to adequately inform users of its data sharing practices.
After the revelation was made public, Zoom on Friday removed Facebook's SDK for "collecting unnecessary device data."
"The data collected by the Facebook SDK did not include any personal user information, but rather included data about users' devices such as the mobile OS type and version, the device time zone, device OS, device model and carrier, screen size, processor cores, and disk space," Zoom said in a statement to Motherboard.
Zoom is "reconfiguring" the Facebook login feature to allow users to sign on with Facebook through a web browser. Users will need to download an updated version of Zoom's iOS app in order for the changes to take effect.
"We sincerely apologize for this oversight, and remain firmly committed to the protection of our users' data," Zoom said in its statement.
William Gallagher
Christine McKee
AppleInsider Staff
Chip Loder
Malcolm Owen
22 Comments
Too late. Minute I read AppleInsider's reporting on this, I deleted Zoom. Fixing it just because you've been caught only communicates to me that you will do it again if you think you can get away with it.
I’m sure it was an innocent oversight, no harm done. They fixed it right away. GAG ME WITH A SPOON!
"We sincerely apologize for this oversight, and remain firmly committed to the protection of our users' data,"
Yeah, ok. Isn’t that what they said the last time they got caught doing something sinister?
I wouldn’t use their software if they paid me.
The Zuckerberg Slurp...
Quite disgusting. You never know in which App/website that “feature” is hiding.
Disinfecting yourself of Facebook only gets you so far. The company has spread like a virus...
Why the heck are people still using these social login methods?
It wasn't a good idea back in like 2012 when it started to be pushed, and certainly shouldn't be a good idea these days when we know all the bad things that have resulted.