For those of you who don’t know, an application known as Bang with Friends has taken the twentysomethings of Facebook by storm over the past month or so. It’s pretty much exactly what it sounds like: an application that allows anyone who has it installed to hook up with their friends to knock boots. It claims to do this with total anonymity. You won’t know who has the app… it only shows you friends of yours who are interested in meeting up.
Naturally, it’s created quite a bit of controversy since its launch, but it’s also caught on like an out of control wild fire. Thousands of users have already signed on and started searching. With a same sex option already on the way, it doesn’t look like it’s going anywhere any time soon. Even if it sounds like the sort of thing you’d be interested in, I’d still advise against using it, however. Unless you don’t mind anyone on your friends list who cares to look knowing you’ve got the app.
See, the problem with Facebook applications is that they actually display how many users have them installed, and prioritizes friends. So…if you’ve got the application installed (or visit the page and start on the installation process) you’ll know exactly who on your friends list has it. So much for anonymity, right?
Of course, you also need to be aware of post privacy status. If the application makes posts on your timeline and they’re set to public…again, confidentiality goes out the window.
So…that’s about it. Just a quick tip about app permissions on applications like Bang with Friends: if you’re skittish about people knowing you’ve got them, don’t use them.
Image courtesy of Jonathan Moyal
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