Monday 25 January 2010

RTFP and Help Haiti, but not via Facebook.

RTFP - Read The Fine Print.

With all due respect, please stop flooding my wall with "Help the People In Haiti Now".

In fact, I would be wary of all these Facebook apps. Why?

Did you actually read what level of access you're allowing to the "Haiti Clock donations" app? I'm guessing you didn't. Let's look at that, shall we? 

Allowing Haiti Click donations access will let it pull your profile information, photos, your friends' info, and other content that it requires to work.

Allow? You allowed an app made by someone I don't know to see my info? How are they going to use it? And what's "other content"?

It's not that I'm not sympathetic for the people in Haiti - That's why I donated to the American Red Cross via iTunes. That's why I donated when my church was collecting for the DEC - Disaster Emergency Committee (a collaboration of 12 aid agencies from the UK). I know which organisation my money goes to, I know roughly where the money is being channelled towards, and I trust that the organisations know best how to use the money to help the people in Haiti.

But please, don't fall for these suspicious apps that you have no clue about.

Read the fine print.

And for goodness sake, grab your wallet. Don't just click on an app which claims to help the Haitians, but don't show how, and then grabs your friends' info and 'other content' (correct me if I'm wrong. I'm just being sceptical because this is a potential threat to people's privacy).

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