14 DAY TRIAL // Another change in the proposed Facebook Data Use Policy which the site has published for public scrutiny is clearer wording regarding third-party apps.
The company is now making it clear that, while it can control an app's access to your current data, anything you have shared with a third-party app or website is not going to be deleted once you stop using the app.
It might be deleted, of course, but Facebook has no power over that, so it's warning users about it and making it clear that what they share will remain shared.
"Apps you've installed can update their records of your basic info, age range, language and country. If you haven't used an app in a while, you should consider removing it," Facebook explains [PDF].
"Once you remove an app, it won't be able to continue to update the additional information you've given them permission to access, but it may still hold the information you have already shared. You always can contact the app directly and request that they delete your data," it adds.
This isn't anything new in any way, as apps have always been able to do this and Facebook doesn't have any requirements about data retention for third-parties. Even if it had, they would be hard or impossible to enforce, as the company would have no way of knowing who is keeping what and for how long.
Still, that's not to say Facebook is powerless in all of this, it is its platform after all. But the company is opting for the easy way out, i.e. not getting involved.
By passing responsibility to third-parties, users can't hold it accountable for any data that others may misuse since the users themselves shared it. Considering the string of lawsuits Facebook has seen over privacy issues, it's not surprising that the company is covering all of its bases.