Facebook no longer allows personality testing and limits app permissions

Facebook no longer allows apps with little ‘usability’ on the platform. The company specifically mentions apps such as personality tests. From now on, apps are no longer allowed to ask for user rights that it does not need and old user permissions are limited.

From Facebook, apps with little ‘utility’ may no longer be offered on the platform from now on. By this, Facebook means apps that make predictions or estimates about a user’s personality or behavior. This update to the Platform Policy should improve privacy and security on the platform, Facebook writes.

According to Facebook, the update “clarifies” the policy that apps should not ask for data that does not make the app better for the user. Permissions that a user gives to an app to access the contact list, for example, also have a shelf life. Permissions that an app does not use for 90 days are considered expired and will be revoked. Facebook also says from now on that it will “periodically” review the permissions an app asks for and remove them if they are not used.

While the Facebook post doesn’t specifically mention Cambridge Analytica, it’s obvious that these changes are related to the data abuse scandal. Cambridge Analytica used multiple personality testing apps to collect data on a large scale from users and friends of those users.