A Quiz App Exposed 120 Million People's Facebook Data--and Cambridge Analytica Had Nothing to Do With It

Future Tense is a partnership of Slate, New America, and Arizona State University that examines emerging technologies, public policy, and society. The latest chapter in Facebook's data woes involves a quiz app that, until as recently as June, exposed the information of 120 million people who just wanted to know whether they were Cinderella or Elsa. According to De Ceukelaire, beginning as early as the end of 2016, NameTests collected Facebook users' data when they opted to take a quiz, such as "Which Disney Princess Are You?" The app then displayed that data--including names, birthdays, photos, and friends lists--in Javascript files easily accessible by third-party websites. De Ceukelaire writes, "Depending on what quizzes you took, the javascript could leak your Facebook ID, first name, last name, language, gender, date of birth, profile picture, cover photo, currency, devices you use, when your information was lasted updated, your posts and status, your photos and your friends." De Ceukelaire says he "would be surprised if nobody else found this earlier," since the flaw was "really easy to spot," but NameTests said it found no evidence of abuse.