06th Apr 2018 by Jess Bashford

Facebook still in the spotlight, Tinder crashes, Logan Paul is still a jerk and McDonald's gives us faith in global brands.

10 Yetis Social Media Weekly News Update

#InvasionOfPrivacy

Facebook is still in the spotlight after more details have emerged about just how much our privacy was jeopardised during the whole ‘Cambridge Analytica’ scandal.

Facebook has now been warned by a number of security researchers that attackers could abuse its phone number and email search option to harvest user’s data.

On Wednesday, the firm said malicious actors had been harvesting profiles for years by abusing the search tool.

It said that anybody who had not changed their privacy settings after adding their phone number should assume their information had been harvested.

One security expert even went on to say that the attack had been possible for years.

Until this Wednesday, Facebook had allowed users to search for their friends phone numbers and emails via the search option. But it said scammers had abused this facility and used it to link phone numbers to emails to people’s names and profile info.

By searching for people’s numbers, sometimes even ones they had guessed by making them up, would link to a person’s profile allowing them access to their name, location and other profile information.

With this information scammers can then call this person addressing them by first name and act as if they are from a bank or other legitimate organisation.

Facebook has previously encouraged people to add their phone number to their account as an added security measure, which is slightly ironic now.

Speaking to reporters about the issue Mark Zuckerberg said: "It is reasonable to expect that if you had that [default] setting turned on, that in the last several years someone has probably accessed your public information in this way. Given that and what we know today, it just makes sense to shut that down."

The option to search for people by phone number has since been disabled.

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Facebook API change crashes Tinder

It’s certainly a good thing that Facebook is finally reflecting on its mistakes and making some changes to the way it deals with user data. However, Facebook’s recent API changes still have a lot to answer for, especially when it comes to third party apps that use Facebook’s connections.

One major player who has been affected by the changes is popular dating app Tinder.

Users are beginning to complain that they are having trouble logging into their accounts. For those Tinder users out there, you will know that you literally cannot have an account on the dating platform without a Facebook profile, this is how the app checks you are who you are after all.

The reason for the complications is because Facebook has revoked the permissions that Tinder requires to function. Trying to log into your Tinder account you may get a message that says “Facebook Permissions. Tinder requires you to provide additional Facebook permissions in order to use a Tinder account. This information is used to create fuller profiles verify authenticity and provide support”.

At present it is believed that the problem is still an endless login lip on the mobile version of the platform. For now, all Tinder users having issues will have to resort to using the web version of the platform that was launched last year.

It is yet to be seen what other apps will be affected by the API changes but rest assured it won’t just end with Tinder.

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YouTube, please just end Logan Pauls channel already

You would think Logan Paul had learnt his lesson after his numerous slaps on the wrist over the past couple of months, but his latest vlog proves he has learnt absolutely zilch.

The disgraced vlogger, now infamous for filming that dead body, spent his birthday disturbing the peace at Yosemite National Park. During his time there, in addition to receiving multiple citations from park rangers, Paul also filmed the aftermath of a car crash and then continued to upload it in his vlog, teasing it at the front of the clip in order to gain views.

At about 7 minutes into the vlog, Paul exits a river after falling out of a kayak when he hears a loud crash. He runs to the scene of the crash where it appears that a pickup truck t-boned a cargo van filled with people.

"Are you guys OK?” Paul and his friend Andy Altig ask a man struggling to open the door of the van. A young child can be heard saying "ow" over and over again. The two check and make sure help has been called, confirming no one is seriously injured before returning to the river to retrieve their kayak.

"Yo, what the fuck?” Paul asks Altig.

"Yo, this is crazy," Altig responds, giggling to himself. The gang then retrieve their kayak, and later return to check on the families.

While this is in no way as bad as what Paul did when he filmed a dead body, it is not a good look for someone who's trying to save face. Logan Paul exploited a shocked family with children that were just involved in a car crash for views. He didn't even have the decency to blur out their faces.

Whether he was genuinely concerned for their wellbeing or not, knowing that not everything has to be caught on camera is one lesson Paul certainly hasn’t learnt.

We highly doubt YouTube will do anything about this idiot as per usual but we seriously hope for the sake of his audience Logan Paul gets his act together and stops filming sensitive content, purely for the hopes of getting more views.

We say, if you can’t get views from just being yourself, then we don’t think you should be a YouTube star, after all wasn’t YouTube once famous for giving ‘normal’ every day people a voice.

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McDonald’s is getting rid of its plastic straws!

Yes, finally a global brand taking notice of all the politics surrounding plastic wastage and pollution.

McDonald’s have stepped up to the mark and we think all other fast food joints should follow suit. The fast food giant announced this week that they are getting rid of the plastic straws and replacing them with biodegradable paper ones.

The trial will begin in May in the UK. The news comes after an announcement by the company earlier this year that it will recycle packaging in all of its almost 37,000 restaurants globally by 2025.

In a bid to make the trial worth while the straws will also be kept behind the counter so if you need one you’ll have to ask for it.

Customers seem to be responding to the news with huge positivity and so they should!

This is a great step, and statement from the brand that plastic pollution is a problem and that there are things that can be done to prevent it.

McDonald’s, we salute you!

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