Intimate information millions of users Facebook app was on unsecured site

A Facebook app that asked users personal questions, such as about mental health, stored the answers on a site whose login details were public. As a result, the personal data of more than 3 million users could be viewed by everyone.

According to the website New Scientist, academics from the University of Cambridge shared data from the app called myPersonality with hundreds of colleagues, through a website that was open to everyone for four years.

The password and login name for the website were shared with his students by a university teacher so they could create a tool to process Facebook data. The code was shared on GitHub, but it also included the information to log in.

Of the six million users who have used the app, more than three million have given permission to share their results and answers. For example, it concerned questions about the personality of users, with topics such as emotional stability being discussed.

Data such as age, gender, location and status updates were also available. All this information was linked to a unique ID, which made it easy to determine who it was. Facebook discontinued the app on April 7.