Facebook gives apps access to addresses and phone numbers

[Joanne98]

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- Facebook is giving app developers access to some of the most sensitive personal data it possess: Members' addresses and phone numbers.

The company slipped the change in quietly, announcing it late last week in a post on its developer blog.

Facebook members will need to explicitly grant permission for apps to tap into their contact information. And they'll only be able to grant that permission for their own data -- users can't choose to allow access to their friends' contact information.

But that may not be enough of a shield. Facebook frequently comes under fire for its constantly changing privacy policies, and many users find the tools it makes available for adjusting privacy settings very confusing.

http://money.cnn.com/2011/01/17/technology/facebook_privacy/