Most of the web went nuts yesterday, when blogger Arun Thampi discovered that when first registering for Path, the app sends each one of your contacts in your address book to their server via a. plist. The .plist includes full names, phone numbers, and e-mails. Path never asked for permission to download the addressbook, and instead does it without telling users. Obviously, people went apeshit.
Today, Path’s CEO Dave Morin has issued an apology after yesterday’s data scare and tried to reassure users Path’s stance on protecting their privacy.
We made a mistake. Over the last couple of days users brought to light an issue concerning how we handle your personal information on Path, specifically the transmission and storage of your phone contacts.
As our mission is to build the world’s first personal network, a trusted place for you to journal and share life with close friends and family, we take the storage and transmission of your personal information very, very seriously.
To help remedy the situation, Path has released a new update to the iTunes App Store, version 2.0.6, that lets you opt in or out from Path storing your address book on their server. If you opt in at first, and later realize you’d like to opt out, you can email Path and they will remove your address book from their servers.
Path also deleted the data they did have.
We believe you should have control when it comes to sharing your personal information. We also believe that actions speak louder than words. So, as a clear signal of our commitment to your privacy, we’ve deleted the entire collection of user uploaded contact information from our servers. Your trust matters to us and we want you to feel completely in control of your information on Path.
Path users (that didn’t bail on the service) might want head over to the App Store for an update.
In Path 2.0.6, released to the App Store today, you are prompted to opt in or out of sharing your phone’s contacts with our servers in order to find your friends and family on Path. If you accept and later decide you would like to revoke this access, please send an email to service@path.com and we will promptly see to it that your contact information is removed.
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This is a syndicated post. Read the original at 9to5Mac2012-02-08.
