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Pinterest and privacy

February 7, 2012 by Robert Leave a Comment

I was planning to check out Pinterest to see what the buzz is about, but their privacy policy gives me the creeps. I can only sign up by linking a Pinterest account to my Facebook or Twitter account. The description on the Twitter link page says this allows them to:

  • Read Tweets from your timeline.
  • See who you follow, and follow new people.
  • Update your profile.
  • Post Tweets for you.

It’s really no consolation that the app doesn’t:

  • Access your direct messages.
  • See your Twitter password.

The Facebook signup page isn’t nearly as informative.  I couldn’t figure out exactly which data the app would have access to or how it would use that data.  The signup page says “We NEVER post without your permission.”  Either they do post Tweets for me or they don’t.  That should be simple to explain.

I don’t want an app following new people for me, or posting on my behalf.  The author of this article says “when I used my Facebook account to create my profile, Pinterest used my personal information to automatically have me start following common connections.”  I have to agree wholeheartedly with her when she says “Pinterest broke a basic tenet of online privacy: To not invasively use my online information.”

What am I missing here?  Or missing out on by not using Pinterest?

Robert

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