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Comment by Nursie | Hacker News Reader

I'm not sure why I would allow Facebook on to my phone in the first place, let alone to run the whole show. Their privacy record isn't exactly great and runs contrary to their business model.

I don't trust their app (look at the email address change nonsense), let alone a bigger one, and the page renders just fine in a mobile browser. I also find the whole "ping me when a close friend does or says anything" aspect of the app as I've seen others use it to be a little obsessive and possibly even creepy.

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If you don't trust them, you wouldn't install this app. So... whats the issue? Nobody will be harmed by this.

"If you don't trust them, you wouldn't install this app. So... whats the issue?"

Other people will install it without thinking about the implications.

"Nobody will be harmed by this."

What definition of 'harm' are we using? Because they've already shown that given access to people's address books they cause trouble.

I believe his point was that you don't trust them enough to install their normal app, so you wouldn't be expected to install Facebook Home.

However, someone who has already installed the normal app doesn't need much more trust to add Home as well.

It's interesting to consider if it's really your or my job to call on the government to "protect" other people that don't think about the implications. My answer would be sorry, but no.

Who said anything about the government??

The original post ends with this: "We need to ask our legislative representatives to understand that Facebook wants to go from our desktops and browsers right into our home-- the place where we need to be private."

LOL. I guess the 7 people who upvoted me didn't read to the end of the article either :)

What happens if you don't install the app but it comes pre-installed on your shiny new phone and you're not tech savvy enough to take it off?

Depending on which phone you buy, it might not be you installing it.

> I also find the whole "ping me when a close friend does or says anything" aspect of the app as I've seen others use it to be a little obsessive and possibly even creepy.

The problem here is in your friendship, not Facebook.

I don't think so, the people I've observed that have this enabled are very good friends of mine and I don't mind that they get pinged when I post something inconsequential. It's also not my call, I'm posting info for them to see and if they want to use a client that notifies them any time I post it then that's their right.

But there is definitely the potential for stalker-ish stuff there. I suppose in that case, yes the friendship would be the problem.

--edit-- But when the friendship isn't in question, I guess I find it a bit weird and overly-reliant on FB to have your phone set up to alert you every time a 'close' friend does anything.

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