The Facebook Connect feature mentioned in this article has been updated to address the privacy issues and concerns we’ve brought up. A new, updated article has been posted: Pogo Facebook Connect Privacy Resolved. This article will remain in our archives, but comments will be closed.
Today, Pogo rolled out even more integration with Facebook. There are a bunch of places the integration shows up and in some cases it’s completely automatic. If you have an account on Pogo and on Facebook, you may need to take some steps to protect your personal privacy.
So, why is any of this a problem (and why are some Pogo users totally outraged at this change)? As we’ll show you later, if you previously used a Pogo Facebook app, your account is already linked and as of today your real name will be shown on your Pogo profile, which is by default a public profile. In other words, if you did nothing more than check out a Facebook Pogo app, your privacy is probably at risk.
Set aside people who didn’t want their Pogo friends knowing their real name (or Facebook users who didn’t want their boss or other friends knowing how much time they spend on Pogo) — there are even larger personal privacy issues at hand. Mix in Pogo’s large number of underage/teenage users and their propensity for trying out a ton of Facebook apps on a whim. You can be sure pedophiles and creeps around the world are rejoicing that they now have the full, real name of the young girl they have been flirting with via Pogo in their teen rooms.
Let’s look at how the integration has played out on Pogo’s pages and how you can reclaim your privacy if you want. If you’re a Facebook user, a small F logo will appear next to your name in your friends’ friends list.
This is apparently automatic (based on your email address), but your profile should’t display any of your personal information unless you want it to (unless you’ve used a Pogo Facebook application in the past and previously linked Pogo and Facebook). Removing the connection between Facebook as outlined below will remove this icon from next to your name.
If you want to turn on full Facebook integration, just visit your Guestbook, then Guestbook Settings, then use the Profile Privacy dropdown tab. Check the box for Facebook integration and you’re all set.
If your Facebook and Pogo aren’t linked at all and you would like them to be, there’s a box on your profile that will allow you to connect the two. This button also appears on your Friends List if you have no pre-existing connection between Facebook and Pogo.
If you’re a little more concerned about your personal privacy and would like to turn it all off, be sure to also visit your profile page and you’ll notice a new Facebook box. You’ll want to choose “Remove Link with Facebook” to completely remove your identifying Facebook data from Pogo. Once you confirm by choosing the Disconnect button, you will see the box above. This will also remove the setting entirely from your Profile Privacy settings.
There are features (benefits?) to this connection, such as publishing badges you’ve earned to Facebook. You can find full instructions for connecting, disconnecting, displaying badges, adding friends and more on the Facebook Connect FAQ on Pogo. (We can’t find a direct link to the Facebook Connect FAQ on Pogo, so here’s a paste of its text.)
What is Facebook Connect?
Facebook Connect allows you to connect your Pogo account to your Facebook account. By doing this, you can:* Add Facebook friends with Pogo accounts that have also gone through the connect process to your friends list.
* Invite your Facebook friends to check out Pogo.
* Let all of your Facebook friends know you’ve won a weekly badge by publishing the achievement to your Facebook news feed! To do this, simply visit your badge album and click the Facebook icon next to the desired badge (this feature is only available to Club Pogo users).How do I connect my Pogo account to my Facebook account?
There are two places where you can connect your Pogo and Facebook accounts: your profile page and your My Friends page. On each of these pages is a button that reads “Connect with Facebook.”If I connect my Pogo and Facebook accounts, do I have to show everyone on Pogo my Facebook profile picture and name?
No. While connecting your accounts, you will be asked if you want to display your Facebook profile picture and name.* If you DO want to display your Facebook information, make sure the box is CHECKED. Your Facebook photo and name will appear on your profile page. Your Pogo friends that have also connected with Facebook will be able to find you and add you to their friends list.
* If you DO NOT want to display your Facebook information, make sure the box is UNCHECKED. Your Facebook photo and name will not appear on your profile page. Your Pogo friends that have also connected with Facebook will not be able to find you during the Facebook Connect process.You can also change this setting on the My Account page. From there, click the Edit Profile Privacy and Guestbook Settings link. You can change your Facebook privacy settings in the Profile Privacy box.
How can I invite my Facebook friends to join Pogo?
During the Facebook Connect process, you will be prompted to invite your Facebook friends to check out Pogo. However, if you want to invite friends after you have already connected, simply visit your My Friends page and click the Add Facebook Friends button.When I click the “Add Facebook Friends” button on the “My Friends” page, I don’t see all of my Facebook friends that have Pogo accounts. How come?
This popup only shows your Pogo and Facebook friends that have connected their accounts and set their Facebook profile to be visible. However, keep checking back!Can I publish Pogo activity to my Facebook news feed?
Yes. However, only weekly badge activity can be published at this time. Weekly badges can only be earned by Club Pogo members.Are weekly badges automatically published to Facebook after they are earned?
No. To publish a weekly badge to your Facebook news feed, visit your badge album. Next to the badges you have won, you will see a Facebook icon. Click this icon to publish the badge to your Facebook news feed.I keep seeing a popup that tells me my Facebook account is already connected to a Pogo account. What is going on?
If you are logged into Facebook as someone other than yourself (this happens a lot on shared computers), you will see this popup. Click the Logout of Facebook button at the bottom of the popup and you will be prompted to log back into Facebook with your own username and password.I tried to add a Facebook friend as a Pogo friend, but I see a popup telling me that I have reached the maximum number of friends. How can I add more friends?
If you are a free Pogo member, you can add up to 30 friends to your friends list. Club Pogo member can add up to 200 friends. You also have the option to delete friends from your friends list to make room for new ones.Can I log into Pogo with my Facebook username?
No. You must register a unique Pogo account to log into the site.I have multiple Pogo accounts. Can I connect them all to my Facebook account?
No. Only one Pogo account can be linked to a Facebook account, so choose wisely! However, if you change your mind, you can always disconnect a Pogo account from your Facebook account and connect a different Pogo account.How do I disconnect my Pogo and Facebook accounts?
On your profile page in the Facebook module, you will see a Remove Link with Facebook link. This only appears if you have connected your Pogo and Facebook accounts and you are logged into Facebook. Click the link to disconnect your Pogo and Facebook accounts.If you disconnect your accounts, any Facebook friends that you have added to your Pogo friends list will remain.
If you are excited about this Facebook Connect stuff, you’re in luck because there seems to be more on its way. The higher-ups at EA seem to be really, really into the potential traffic and monetary benefits to Facebook and other social networking connections. According to this article, EA’s COO states “We’ve seen some very creative developers move to social gaming and deliver experiences that are generating a lot of eyeballs on sites like Facebook and MySpace,” he tells us. “The traffic has attracted a lot of attention — and dollars — from the investment community.” Of course, EA and Pogo want a piece of it.
Coincidentally, we finally got around to publishing our BadgeHungry fan page, so feel free to become a fan if you’d like. All twitter posts will be replicated there to start and we’ll see about adding more features in the future.
Update 4:40pm EST: We just got an official update from Pogo: “We are adjusting the privacy to be ‘Private’ by default, fix should come tonight.”
Update 6:08pm EST: Just got another update: “The facebook connect feature has been turned off until the privacy issue has been fixed, tonight.”
Due to an overwhelming number of requests to be able to discuss this topic, comments are now open (perhaps only for a limited time). Please be nice to each other, be patient with Pogo, and be kind to your moderator (who still won’t be approving off-topic comments or anything that gets too heated). Thank you!
Filed under: new, promotions and events
{ 45 comments }
Kandy 10.20.09 at 4:06 pm
lol see some people are smart and did not sign up on facebook using their real life name like me for example it is rare and slim that I will put my real name on anything on the internet if and when I sign up for anything I take my most common or most popular screen name and break it into a first and last name I used Kandy as my first name and Bars as my last because my most common and recognized screen name is Kandybars its small stuff like that you can do to keep people from knowing stuff you dont want them to know
FISH 10.20.09 at 4:07 pm
this is a real big turn off for me i cannot stand social network sites . i have never LIKED facebook never joined never will yeah yeah i’m an oddball but i feel pogo is ramming it down my throat they should have just stayed a game site period .. if any one enjoys social networking they’d be there . i for one will be serouisly rethinking my club pogo membership . so much for paying for no ads . seeing the F every where in club pogo is free advertising for them BAH
Lura 10.20.09 at 4:09 pm
Kandy: you’re right, it’s smart not to use your real name on things, however that’s not really how Facebook works. When you sign up, it urges you to use your real name so you can connect with real life friends and a lot of people use it that way. The issue with Pogo’s integration is not what username you chose on Facebook, but the fact that Pogo made the change with no warning and a ton of players had their real name (and photo) added to their (by default, public) Pogo profile.
In addition, most people will never have a problem with their Facebook friends knowing they use Pogo (and knowing their username/screen name on Pogo), but it’s more likely they would not want anyone to view their real name from their Pogo profile. If I met someone in Canasta and they friended me on Pogo, I’d be kind of skeeved if that meant they’d know my real name too.
Also, just an FYI: Public Pogo profiles show up in Google search results for usernames, names of different games, and/or phrases in the profile text itself. A way to lock that down is to edit your Profile Privacy settings, but the damage may already be done now.
Gecko 10.20.09 at 4:12 pm
One clarification please? If we aren’t linked to Facebook and getting the “connect with Facebook” button everywhere, then Pogo still won’t display any additional personal information than before, correct? Our Pogo account information is still locked up?
(I’m frantically searching my profile, as a domestic abuse survivor still in hiding, I’d like that info safe and this makes me nervous that they did it without warning for anyone else not as vigilant or not on BH to be warned. Thanks in advance!)
Kat F. 10.20.09 at 4:14 pm
I have but ONE thing to say: OMG!!!
Following up on that ONE thing….HOW DARE EA/POGO DO THIS WITHOUT MY PERMISSION!!!
I for one, am outraged at this intrustion to my privacy. I DID NOT OK this and never would to begin with!!! The majority of people on Pogo are there to PLAY GAMES!!
If they want to socialize on a network, they go to a SOCIAL NETWORK!! Pogo is NOT IT one of those!! It’s a game site and ALWAYS will be!! You call a horse a horse if it is a HORSE!!
I WILL GO IMMEDIATELY TO MY PROFILE AT POGO AND THEN ONTO FACEBOOK AND DISCONNECT ANY LINK THERE IS THAT VIOLATES MY PERSONAL PRIVACY. THEN I SHALL WRITE TO POGO AND TELL THEM EXACTLY WHAT I THINK OF THIS IDIOTIC IDEA!!!
Thank you for letting me vent my displeasure/DISGUST at this incredible lack of tact and EA’s intolerable lack of responsiblily to their players’ privacy!
Have a good day, Lura and thank you so very much for WARNING me!! I never would have known unless you had told me right here on BadgeHungry :) Thank goodness we have YOU!
(((Hugs to ALL)))
Kat F.
Lura 10.20.09 at 4:15 pm
Gecko: I believe you’re fine. I’ll be sending you an email in a few with some ideas on how you can check to be sure.
cherie 10.20.09 at 4:16 pm
Pogo is looking for a lot of trouble by doing this without notifying anyone. It should’ve been set up so we can activate the link if we want our FB and Pogo accounts integrated, not done so we have to go back and UNdo it.
Also FISH lol you crack me up…how can you know you never liked it if you don’t try it? Ugh, now I sound like my mom trying to get me to eat veggies when I was young.
Indy 10.20.09 at 4:19 pm
My opinion, but this is gonna get REAL interesting. Another lesson to be learned in guarding your privacy – everywhere. If this is something some members want to be involved in, then I think it’s fine. However, I feel it should have been publicized as an option, information fed to us in advance, and let us individually decide BEFORE it appears. But for Pogo to just shove this at their membership was, in my opinion, out of line and unprofessional. It’s all about money, plain and simple. Shame on Pogo.
Cookie 10.20.09 at 4:21 pm
Wow Lura thank you so much for this information!!
I do not use facebook aps so I never checked out the stuff because I do not care, I don’t use facebook for that but it is still scary! Everyone on my Facebook I actually KNOW and TRUST so they can know my real name. Everyone else…cookie is just fine :)
John 10.20.09 at 4:31 pm
I wish I took Screen Shot’s of all the letter’s to the Editor etc. But I’m sure that like alot of promises, we were misquoted. You must have read somewhere else letters, It’s now lost in the depths of all our imaginations.
I know there was one that said Pogo is IN NO WAY IS AFFILIATED OR EVER WILL EVER BE AFFILIATED WITH FACEBOOK. That the Widget at that time was just for Pogo members as a bonus (mmm..A Pogo AD to be run on your page).
CW11 10.20.09 at 4:37 pm
Thanks to this posting, Lura, I found out about the change. When I viewed my Pogo profile I found that my name was no shown (because I’ve edited my Facebook settings to prevent apps from displaying this info), and it was VERY easy to eliminate the Facebook link.
I want to maintain my privacy and I also want to use certain social networking sites, so I examine all settings and options and make very careful choices about them. I consider it my personal responsibility to be aware of my options and to manage them prudently. I assume that my profile info on a Web site is public unless I take steps to conceal it.
Lura 10.20.09 at 4:40 pm
I just got this message from a Pogo employee: “We are adjusting the privacy to be ‘Private’ by default, fix should come tonight.”
Indy 10.20.09 at 4:45 pm
A question please because I honestly don’t know. But what are Facebook aps…as opposed to being a member or not on Facebook. I am not on Facebook so I’d like to think I’m not at risk for privacy issues, but I have read and followed a link PogoBret uses on Facebook, was that an ap? I didn’t have to be a Facebook member to access it or read it. Sorry, I just don’t know all the social networking jargon. And like everyone else here, I’ve checked my profile, guestbook settings, etc. in Pogo to see if anything is too private. Sheeesh – hate to think what they’re coming up with next…. A huge thank you, Lura, for being our go-to gal.
Debbie 10.20.09 at 4:45 pm
do you have to connect facebook and pogo together ????
Lura 10.20.09 at 4:50 pm
Debbie: no it’s optional. But some users of Facebook apps found out this morning that they were automatically linked with today’s changes. That’s the issue.
Indy: I am not sure I have all of the answers (as Facebook and I don’t exactly get along very well), but I can tell you that as long as you didn’t create an account on Facebook you’re not affected by this.
Chrissy 10.20.09 at 4:56 pm
Ok, so what if you *dont* have facebook? I used to have a page but never really logged on and got tired of all the Farmville requests so i ended up deleting the page. I looked in the guestbook settings and didn’t see anything about facebook. I guess i am immune to this then?
tcfox 10.20.09 at 4:59 pm
What a nightmare Pogo created today. I hope that the mail boxes of customer service, LttE & Ms Net are getting slammed with hate mail today.
What in the world was Pogo thinking doing something like this without giving users a prior heads-up? It’s totally unacceptable to put everyone’s accounts at risk for what TPTB see as a way to line their pockets. They really should try thinking about how their action will affect their users first. Fortunately I was only upset because I felt it should be up to me to decide if I wanted to tell my Pogo friends if I wanted them to know if I had a Facebook account or not, NOT Pogo, but what about people who had hidden Facebook accounts say from their spouses who were on their friends list. Not that I condone that type of behavior, but is it up to Pogo to ruin their marriages by outting them to their spouses?
Also, some people’s Facebook profile pictures & profiles are downright R rated. Is this what you want your children easily seeing on Pogo. You don’t have to be a Facebook user to see these people’s profiles. So you keep your children off Facebook, but they can get to these selected profiles from Pogo…..no foresight Pogo.
Pam 10.20.09 at 5:08 pm
Once again, Pogo jumped without a nano of consideration for all genre’s of people & their preferences to privacy…
I immediately went in my Pogo account & changed my e-mail address to a default e-mail account & even went as far as to back out my billing information.
I will never trust Pogo again, they now proved to me that they are into changing everything to suit themselves & damn my prefrences as a consumer.
For those of you who like it, Rock on… for those who don’t I understand & sympathize with you 100%.
Gecko, I whole heatedly empathize with you.
Jakers 10.20.09 at 5:15 pm
I too,like Chrissy,*dont* have a fb acct (since you cant *delete* your acct – write to support and they will tell you what to do to *delete*),and I have never used a pogo fb app-so are we ok?
I do realize Lura that you are not tech support – thank you for posting this and taking the time for all of us *Hugz*
Wendy 10.20.09 at 5:16 pm
Lura, thank you so much for the speedy response and for opening the thread. I am really confused and concerned about this change. I have had Pogo stalkers,so I can’t believe that my personal info was made available to everyone without my consent. Is that what happened??
I am on Facebook and I was a fan of Pogo on FB, Is that considered an app.? I just removed myself from Pogo’s fans on FB, I set my profile on Pogo so that noone can see it until I can figure this out, but I want people to see my Pogo profile. I just don’t want people on Pogo to see my FB info. Can anyone tell me, please, if I have reason to be a little freaked out ? Because so far, I am. lol
Lura 10.20.09 at 5:26 pm
Okay, everyone calm down please. :)
If you don’t have a Facebook account, the privacy issues here don’t immediately concern you. You’re safe.
If you do have a Facebook account *and* you have used a Pogo Facebook application (which specifically requires you to ALLOW Facebook to access your Pogo information, and I guess vice-versa) then you may want to follow the steps in the article above to disconnect your accounts. If you are a fan of Pogo you’re fine. If you have clicked on links to Facebook and from Facebook, you’re fine.
I really don’t have the knowledge about Facebook to be tech support in this matter, so if you have questions and they aren’t answered by the article above or a previous comment, I guess contact Pogo directly. I tried to be as thorough as I could be with my limited experience of FB.
Maria 10.20.09 at 5:34 pm
I understand why they are doing the whole integration with facebook, hoping to get more traffic & money out of people. But if they would offer current members a break on their membership or an incentive bonus to continue their membership, like they continually offer to first time members, I think more people would stay.
I personally HATE networking sites and have never signed up for Facebook or MySpace. I just don’t want my info out their like that, not to mention what I heard on the radio the other day, that once you post ANYTHING on Facebook, they OWN it!! I don’t want pictures of my kids and family being used however Facebook wants. This is from their terms of service:
“You hereby grant Facebook an irrevocable, perpetual, non-exclusive, transferable, fully paid, worldwide license (with the right to sublicense) to (a) use, copy, publish, stream, store, retain, publicly perform or display, transmit, scan, reformat, modify, edit, frame, translate, excerpt, adapt, create derivative works and distribute (through multiple tiers), any User Content you (i) Post on or in connection with the Facebook Service or the promotion thereof subject only to your privacy settings or (ii) enable a user to Post, including by offering a Share Link on your website and (b) to use your name, likeness and image for any purpose, including commercial or advertising, each of (a) and (b) on or in connection with the Facebook Service or the promotion thereof.”
Sorry but Pogo Puppies isn’t worth all that….LOL :)
tcfox 10.20.09 at 5:36 pm
Wendy (20) if you go to your profile section (in you Facebook section) & there is nothing there that says disconnect or alternately if it says “Connect with Facebook” you are already disconnected & you are fine.
As a retraction to my previous post. Whether a Facebook profile can be viewed from Pogo probably depends on the privacy settings the person has their Facebook set at. I checked pogo_Bret’s out & he probably has his set for all to view, so I made a bad assumption. If someone has theirs set to only friends can view, then only their Facebook friends should still only be able to view it. Still a mess, Sorry!
EdC 10.20.09 at 6:01 pm
Thanks for explaining things!…and yes I am still confused LOL
I signed up for facebook to check out pogo puppies. As tcfox mentioned, I must have my FB privacy settings for only friends to view my facebook junk because nothing was there on my pogo profile when I checked it out this morning(no picture or name etc), unless I’m in the dark about something. I think I am okay I dunno.
Lura 10.20.09 at 6:08 pm
EdC: tcfox was mentioning Facebook’s privacy settings, not Pogo’s. By default, any Facebook profile you create is only visible in full to people who you allow as friends. Other people will just see your name and picture.
A quick test (for later, see below): just view your Pogo profile page (http://www.pogo.com/profiles/yourusername). If your name’s on it in the Facebook box, your accounts are linked and you can publish badges to your Facebook page and add friends and all of that stuff. If it says “Connect with Facebook” or there is no Facebook box, your accounts are not linked at all.
^^ All of this is moot at this point. I just got an email stating “The facebook connect feature has been turned off until the privacy issue has been fixed, tonight.” I am having a hard time verifying the source, but the message is correct — it’s completely disappeared from the site.
Wendy 10.20.09 at 6:16 pm
Thank you, Lura and tcfox! I think I was thrown because I wasn’t seeing any type of Facebook setting in my account or profile info, but then I realized that must mean that I am not connected. Phew!!! lol
I do love Pogo, but I knew I wouldn’t find out what I needed to know there. Thank goodness for BH!! Freak out officially over,lol.
Thanks again! :)
Indy 10.20.09 at 6:51 pm
Sorry but I have to laugh – the one thing that keeps going through my head in all this mess as the Pogo “switchboard” message system in customer service was probably lighting up and shooting sparks from overload a while ago is….
Pogo, you almost betrayed your alliance….The Tribe has Spoken.
Frank 10.20.09 at 7:01 pm
Lura, I would like to thank you for your tenacity following up on this! I hadn’t even known such a “feature” would be rolled out. While I use both Pogo and Facebook, I still do not appreciate when sites roll out personal information without the user’s consent. I was aghast when I read that Pogo flippantly released this “feature” without first notifying their members, with many of the reasons you cited above. I’m glad they received enough complaint in advance to disable this nonsense until they thoroughly revamp it. Did Pogo think that their members would readily consent to this? Take a page from the backlash that Facebook was involved in; they should have had their presumptions well in advance. So, once again, THANKS!
FISH 10.20.09 at 8:08 pm
cherie glad i crack you up LMAO / the family and friends around after alot of them being members on facebook have griped , complained . moaned and groaned . that is why i never had the interest in it real life has enough excitement and the odd aggravation that i DON’T need a social network to add to them some days pogo is enough to turn my curls straight HAAA HAA so i say BAHHHHHH TO pogo’s facebook kissing move
Lura 10.20.09 at 8:37 pm
Another official update:
I’ll be editing and/or adding to my post above to reflect these changes sometime tomorrow morning, after I get my hands on it to see exactly how it works and how to best word it so that everyone will understand how the Facebook connect feature works.
Melissa 10.20.09 at 8:53 pm
Personally, they should ask our permission before allowing them to connect to our Facebook account, whether or not we have used a Pogo app on facebook. While I understand the need to connect users, I don’t see how it will benefit Pogo in the long run.
Sheljin 10.20.09 at 9:05 pm
First I just want to add my thanks to Lura for posting all this for us, trying to make sense of it, staying on top of it. It is great to know we have a space where we can really find out about things, and fast!
Lura, I think I can speak for all of us that we know you may not always have the technical expertise for a particular crisis. We just appreciate you shining the light and pointing us in the right directions. Thanks!
I don’t have Facebook and can’t imagine I ever will. I am one of those people who have never been on one of these sites, but *knows* I never will want to. Much of what we have read today is part of my reasons why. I don’t have to have used it myself to know about the “cons” of the services.
But…not having it still didn’t stop me from being outraged about it. Even the comments about Pogo employees (Pogo Bret for instance) don’t include his last name. The interviews they post with their employees don’t include their last names. How dare they NOT fully investigate something that DID expose people’s private information prior to implementing it? How dare they not get authorization from their members?
This is scary stuff, especially since – sadly – I have also been the victim of Pogo stalkers and harrassers. Heck, the Club name I use isn’t even my first choice because of that! All we get from Pogo is advice to ignore, mute. What we would get if these harrassers could suddenly find us for real? Nothing from Pogo, I’m sure.
They have been pushing the Facebook (and other things) like it is just some super-keen, peachy fun activity for us all! But, truly, all it is about is making every since Pogo person into a walking advertisement for the service. The least they could do is offer an incentive to be a walking billboard for the service. How about free 6 months of Club Pogo for every application of yours that you link to Pogo? How about as someone else said above, they start showing appreciate to their loyal customers by offering us incentives to stay rather than just incentives to newbies to try it? This was really a very very bad thing. Yes, they are fixing it. Good for them. But, really – the thing everyone needs to be aware of, especially them, is they DID do this. Whether from total ignorance or just blatant disregard for their customers as people, it is really not a bright shining moment in Pogo’s history.
~Shel
Dan13 10.20.09 at 9:09 pm
That’s IT!!!
I have finally had it. Dear Pogo you have lost your income from this member. I will never “pay” for any gems or any memberships ever again. I will get free handouts from my coke or subway to keep the account active and will get gems from spins or not at all. I hope Face HOOK was worth losing many accounts over.
Steph 10.20.09 at 9:27 pm
Ok I have one question…. and please Lura forgive me if it has been answered already…… if your pogo account and your facebook account have different e-mail addresses will u still be affected…. i personally don’t even want to see the facebook “F” beside my name…..
thanks,
Steph
Lura 10.20.09 at 9:39 pm
Steph: yeah, I think I’ve answered this one before. If you connect your Pogo account and Facebook account together in any way, then it’ll show up (it doesn’t matter what email address is on either account). To get rid of the F, make sure you disconnect completely and update your privacy settings if needed tomorrow after they put the feature back up. I will be adding an update to the original post tomorrow that will explain the changes after I’ve had a chance to play with them so I know exactly how it all works.
Steph 10.20.09 at 9:41 pm
OK Lura Thanks and again sorry for asking the same question again……….
donna m 10.20.09 at 9:46 pm
I absolutely HATE HATE HATE Facebook being connected to pogo. As someone stated I have only trusted friends and family on my Facebook and did not like logging into my Pogo account and seeing my Grandsons Pics in my profile. The other point someone made about the content of other Facebook users accounts. I know I have see porn on both Facebook and MySpace and have no clue why Pogo would want to connect to either. HATE IT HATE IT HATE IT LOL
Evelyn 10.20.09 at 9:47 pm
MEGA THANKS Lura for this information, especially the tips on how to stay private!!
Pat 10.20.09 at 9:49 pm
I just tried the link provided by Lura to check my account. I do believe i opened a facebook account in the past, due to the pressure of all 3 of my children, who are on FB. Anyway, when i clicked on the link, i got a message that the url dindnt connect and to check spelling, capitalization, etc….now, i am more confused than ever. Where else do I go to check this??
I too want to thank Lura for providing us with this info, as, obviously Pogo had no regard for us, their 1.5 million subscribers…At this point, i am confused and will need to reread the thread to see what I missed.
And, yes, I do have a previous stalker and finally felt safe after moving clear across the county, left no forwarding address, sold my car (and ride the bus), have an unlisted number….I think I am in shock at this point…I need more info…Shame on you, Pogo and thank you Lura and BH
jan 10.20.09 at 11:57 pm
I am amazed and upset at Pogos blunder and reckless disregard for our privacy and safety. Even Facebook gives options for privacy settings.
I went and took down my name and pics that other people had posted on my wall. Im bummed about that because I have been able to reconnect with people I grew up with and make plans to get together. Pogo has no right to place its members in danger via other sites or make it possible to share information with anyone who care to look. They have rules for Pogos site, but how dare they pull a stunt like this?
I have looked at my Pogo profile which I purposely leave blank and see nothing to indicate a Facebook link. Hopefully, that means my info was safe. Whatever fix Pogo has put in will be closing the barn door after the horse has left. I feel badly for all who suffer negative repercussions from Pogos massive mistake.
Since they have so blatantly disregarded and disrespeded their members, I dont think they can even issue a decent apology especially after reading the posts on this thread.
As always, thanks Lura for keeping our community informed.
Tanya 10.21.09 at 3:22 am
I would like to thank everyone who commented here. I am one of the people who do use facebook and myspace. I have never had a problem with either one, however, the linking of Pogo and facebook provides way too much information between the two. I have to know that my family is protected and I am very careful. I have been in game rooms on Pogo and watched chat while someone who is claiming to be 10 is in chat asking for people who have kids to chat with them. Their vocabulary and typing is way too advanced for a 10 year old, also they are very persistant. In my opinion, this is the perfect setup for people who are unaware that their info may be out there to someone who is willing to do harm. Scary.
pogofan 10.21.09 at 9:25 am
I don’t know what to do about this — drama is not my thing but I do have a very nasty person that has caused so many problems. My friends, fellow board members/friends all know about this female. I want that ‘F’ off my account — I’m shaking so much I can’t even process this info…I better cancel my pogo account — I can’t have her following me, again, I just can’t!
FISH 10.21.09 at 9:29 am
everyone here who hates the facebook pogo forced on us PLEASE send a letter stating so to pogo customer relations .
Chrissy 10.21.09 at 9:36 am
Thanks Lara! I just think it’s kind of ridiculous. I know I don’t want my info out there and I know others feel the same way. It’s too easy these days and especially with some of the crazies I’ve encountered on pogo and off…. This little venture is just to risque. Unfortunately I see other sites starting the trend of “facebook connect” as well.
Lura 10.21.09 at 9:47 am
I’ve updated the note at the top of this article to reflect that Pogo has updated the Facebook Connect feature to address these privacy issues.
More information is here:
http://www.badgehungry.com/2009/10/21/pogo-facebook-connect-privacy-resolved/
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