Syncing Your Pictures With Facebook: Is It Really 100% Safe?

How would you feel if someone uploaded every single picture you owned onto Facebook (yes, even the horrific/downright mortifying ones that you’d never thought would see the light of day beyond your mobile phone’s memory)?

According to reports surfacing today, Facebook has been accused of a huge ‘data grab’ after actively encouraging users to allow the website to automatically synchronise pictures from their mobile phones to the websites servers.

On Friday, Facebook started asking users of its mobile app to activate the new ‘photo sync function.’ Users were given little information about what this function involved, but basically clicking yes allows Facebook to effectively steal every picture you  take on your mobile and upload it to a private album on its server.

Oh, and here’s the kicker – it doesn’t matter if you accept the new photo sync function or not, Facebook will still have access to the pictures on your phone. This means that the website can use the pictures to mine data such as the location where the picture was taken and the people who appear in the snap.

“You are no longer in charge of what photos you upload to Facebook. In the past, you could decide what images you uploaded to the social network, and which pictures it could analyse for its own purposes,” said a spokesperson for internet security company Sophos.

“Now, all photos – good and bad – will be available to Facebook,” the spokesperson added.

Is it getting to the point where we'll soon be sharing EVERY aspect of our lives with Facebook?

The photo sync feature was launched on Friday with no public announcement from Facebook and while the website is stressing that the album containing your pictures will remain private, technology experts are expressing concern as they believe Facebook will be able to find out various details about users’ lives through taking metadata from the pictures.

On a basic level, your pictures will allow Facebook to target you with specific advertising that mentions your location. However, it could also find out which of your friends you’ve been socialising with and where.

Is it just us or is this starting to get seriously creepy? How do you feel about giving Facebook access to the pictures on your mobile phone?