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Iceni Magazine | March 26, 2024

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Social Media Memories and Why They Could Be Compromising Your Data

Social Media Memories and Why They Could Be Compromising Your Data

Took a memorable location? Reminiscing on the last time you and your friends got together and had some really good time? Are you celebrating an anniversary or birthday? It is good to look back every once in a while and in this age of social media, that is very easily done with the help of “Memory” features.

Yes, it is cool to think that all of these wonderful memories are recorded and kept on social media platforms. Remember how Timehop was all the rage a few years ago? Fact is, up to this day, and even if Timehop is no longer actively used – they still have a database of millions of users who gave them the permission to sift through all of their photos and pots.

Facebook and Instagram have followed through with the principle by launching the On This Day pp which is basically a tool for the platforms to dig through all of your posts in the past to remind you of the things that you’ve done in the past years.

The good thing about Timehop then is that it would not work without your permission. The app will ask first if you agree to the terms they set, including the access to your data. By giving access, you let Timehop have access tokens that they can use to access your data without you having to enter actual passwords with a third party. The good news, you are safe as long as the company holding those access tokens don’t let any crook wander and steal the data. The bad news? They very rarely get everything as secure as they wish. This trick is part of the digital era. There’s a course on digital marketing that reveals more of it, visit us to know more.

Just recently, Timehop revealed that there was a data breach in their system. It meant that all of the data are now in the hands of the crooks who took advantage of the opportunity. What does it mean to you?

  1. It means that millions of users’ data like photos and status from years back are now in the hands of these people.
  2. All of the personal communication details like signup name, email address, and phone numbers are also available to them.

Naturally, Timehop has disabled the access tokens on their file and disconnected everyone on their app to prevent more harm being done. For users who want to keep using the app, they will be asked to reconnect to the various services of their choice.

According to the company, there is no evidence that the stolen data have been used for criminal purposes but it is worth noting that the possession of email addresses and passwords open access to a host of other data and portals.

What Timehop capitalized on is the people’s love for nostalgia. While it makes users happy to look back at the things they did in the past, it also posts great data that can be stolen anytime. This is something that can be prevented if they become more conscious of the applications they are using and the extent of data they wish to get hold of.


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