Doorbell app is handing over your data to Facebook

January 30, 2020

By Mark Jones

Facebook has a history of mishandling users’ personal information. It’s been caught multiple times sharing private data with other companies.

Multiple privacy breaches have led many people to delete their Facebook accounts altogether. You should think about deleting yours, too. Tap or click here to find out how to delete your Facebook account.

The scary thing is, deleting your account might not be enough to protect your privacy. A popular home security system is handing over your data to Facebook, even if you don’t have an active account.

Ring doorbell and third-party trackers

Researchers with the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) recently conducted an investigation on the Ring doorbell app for Android, and you’re not going to like what it found.

The app is using third-party trackers and sending out tons of its customers’ personally identifiable information (PII) to other companies, including Facebook.

Making matters worse is Ring customers don’t know this is happening. The company lists four third-party analytics services in a privacy notice on its website, but only one of the trackers that EFF found is listed.

Ring users’ data is actually being sent to the following four sites:

1. appsflyer.com
2. branch.io
3. mixpanel.com
4. facebook.com.

The only one found in Ring’s privacy notice is mixpanel.com.

Some information being shared includes names, private IP addresses, mobile network carriers, sensor data and more.

RELATED: Facebook admits to tracking user location despite permission settings.

Before you assume this information isn’t that big of a deal, EFF explained tracking companies can combine the smaller bits of information to form a “unique picture” of users’ devices. This creates a sort of “fingerprint” that follows users as they interact with their apps and devices.

So what does this mean, exactly? Companies can figure out what you’re doing and spy on your online habits.

EFF stated: “All this takes place without meaningful user notification or consent and, in most cases, no way to mitigate the damage done. Even when this information is not misused and employed for precisely its stated purpose (in most cases marketing), this can lead to a whole host of social ills.”

This isn’t the first time Ring has had problems with leaked user data. Last month, thousands of Ring camera passwords were leaked online. Tap or click here for more details on that incident.

What makes the latest findings even scarier is the fact that Facebook is involved. You already know Facebook can’t be trusted with personal information — they’ve proven that time and time again.

Now the company is receiving PII about Ring customers, even if they don’t have Facebook accounts. Talk about the ultimate breach of privacy! With all of these privacy issues popping up, you might want to think twice before installing a Ring Doorbell.