


This ensures that you won’t accidentally broadcast something private, such as other conversations or sensitive information. It’s a lot like the Workplace Chat website, providing easy access to conversations, search, and more.įor instance, when sharing your screen, you can choose to share either your entire desktop or only a specific application, such as Excel or PowerPoint. The app allows Workplace users to access Work Chat directly on their desktop and share files and their desktop screen with another user. As first discovered by TechCrunch, this app is targeted at Workplace users right now as it focuses on building a suite of services competing with the likes of Slack…
CHATTY FOR FACEBOOK MESSENGER MAC
While debate in the US has led to the bulk collection of phone data by the NSA being outlawed, with the future of other surveillance laws yet to be decided upon, the British prime minister, David Cameron, this week announced “turbo-charged” legislation to extend snooping powers that were blocked in a previous government coalition.Facebook this week has quietly launched a new desktop Mac application with built-in screen sharing and chat. The company acknowledged receipt of Guardian requests for comment but has so far yet to issue a statement.Įver since whistleblower Edward Snowden exposed the mass communications interceptions of the NSA and GCHQ – the intelligence agencies of the United States and UK respectively – the issue of privacy has been thrust into global public consciousness. Facebook is thought to be working on a fix to disable the tracking extension.
CHATTY FOR FACEBOOK MESSENGER CODE
However, the Marauders Map code can still be found on open source website GitHub, allowing the extension to be rebuilt. Originally developed using mapping platform Mapbox and discovered by the Next Web, the extension proved so popular that Mapbox has since revoked the API (application program interface) key, rendering that version defunct. The map in the left hand side of this Marauders Mapscreenshot tracks a user’s movements. Furthermore, it seems so harmless to attach a location with a single message, but the problem is, over time the information from these messages adds up.” “The main problem is that every time you open your phone and send a single message it’s so easy to forget about your location data being attached to it. “Everyone I have shown this extension to has been anywhere from surprised to appalled that this much of their very personal data is online for their friends (and even complete strangers) to access. Writing on Medium, Khanna expressed surprise at how many contacts had not taken steps to turn off location settings, which are not immediately obvious in Facebook’s mobile user interface. What’s more, an individual doesn’t have to be “friends” with another user to be able to track their location, just part of the same messaging thread. The Javascript location data includes time stamps, which means that a person’s movements can be tracked minute by minute, hour by hour, going back months and, in some cases, years.Ī user’s entire past location history can be tracked back to the first instance of a messaging conversation. Khanna found that the coordinates were accurate to a staggering five decimal places, allowing him to identify not only a friend’s college dormitory but also the room.

The Marauders Map extension allows users’ locations to be tracked to within a metre of accuracy.
