Don't take that viral Facebook quiz
By Kelli Uhrich
Updated 11/25 with new clarifications from Vonvon and instructions to disable the quiz app.
We know it's tempting. You've seen that quiz going around that all your friends seem to be taking. It's a personality quiz, and that's right up your alley. But, wait a second. Before you take it, you might want to think twice. And if you've already taken it, keep reading to learn what you should do.
The quiz "Your Most Used Words on Facebook" is a viral sensation. It scans your Facebook posts and creates a "word cloud" from the words you use most in your account. But, this quiz could go beyond just collecting your name and a few details about your life.
It has access to your birth date, hometown, education and work details. It picks up everything you've liked and browsed, and even has access to your photos. Plus, it archives your IP address.
That's quite a bit of information for a simple quiz on Facebook. And the thing is most people take the quiz after agreeing to the terms first. The app prompts a page that asks you to authorize its connection with your Facebook account.
We see those pop-ups all the time, though. So it's easy to assume that it's just another request, and it's probably fine. But this should make you take another look, and be more cautious.
What's particularly frightening about this Facebook quiz is the Privacy Policy associated with the app. You know, those lengthy contracts that nobody reads? The company behind the quiz, Vonvon.me, has snuck a little nugget in there that everyone should know.
The policy states that anyone who logs in using Facebook is authorizing the app to continue using their information even after they've terminated their account. Even more, users who agree to the terms are authorizing the app to store their information on servers around the globe. Some of which are located in countries where privacy laws don't exist.
Of course, the Vonvon.me agreement states it would never share your personal information with a third party without telling you first. However, it also says in the agreement that by clicking "OK" you're stating you've been told.
The CEO of Vonvon has spoken out and clarified that it doesn't actually pull any of your personal information out of Facebook or sell any of it. It only uses the bare minimum it needs to create the word cloud. However, it's a good reminder that the company could have if it wanted, and some other company in the future might.
If you already took the quiz and granted permissions for the app to access your Facebook account, you can't take back whatever information it already collected. However, you can keep it from scooping up more of your information in the future.
You'll need to unlink the app from your Facebook account. To unlink an app or game from Facebook, follow these steps:
- Click the arrow in the upper-right corner of your Facebook page and select Settings
- Click Apps in the left menu
- Hover over the app or game you'd like to remove and click X. This app could be identified as "Vonvon" or "Your Most Used Words on Facebook." You should also review what other apps you've given access to in the past and what permissions they have.
Note: An app or game may have stored info from when you were using it, but you can contact the developer to ask that they delete any info they may still have.
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