Aardvark privacy fail.... you're really sending me peoples names and cities?

This is crazy right?

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From:
Date: Fri, Oct 30, 2009 at 3:00 PM
Subject: People you may know have recently joined Aardvark...

Hi Jason,

You may know these people who recently joined Aardvark:
- Chris Thomson / 16 / M / Toronto, Canada (your friend on Facebook)
- Steph Brooks / F / Panama City, FL (a friend of Aaron Brazell)
- Mike Campbell / M / Louisville, KY (a friend of Jason Falls)
- Simon Small / 26 / M / Melbourne, Australia (a friend of Jason Falls)
- Robert Gonsalves / M / Campbell, CA (a friend of Richard Titus)
- Andy Evans / 39 / M / London, UK (a friend of Michael Arrington)
- Matt West / 36 / M / LA, CA
- Richard Rosenblatt / 40 / M / Woodland Hills, CA (your friend on Facebook)
- Ryan Ozawa / 34 / M / Honolulu, HI (your friend on Facebook)
- Steve Outing / 52 / M / Boulder, CO (your friend on Facebook)
- Sharyn Horowitz / F / Yardley, PA
- Karen Fetty / F / NYC, NY
- Brad Leonard / M / Saint Louis, MO
- Scott Granneman / 41 / M / St. Louis, MO
- Laura Betterly / F / Clearwater, FL (your friend on Facebook)
- Mark Ganchrow / 47 / M / Rochester, NY
- Mike McLean / 43 / M / Jacksonville, FL
- Mike Wu / 36 / M / Hoboken, NJ (a friend of Jason Herskowitz)
- Scott Jacobs / M / Los Angeles, CA (a friend of Renee Blodgett)
- Chick Foxgrover / M / Brooklyn, NY
- JC Bouvier / 38 / M / Manhattan, NY
- William Tunstall-Pedoe / M / Cambridge, UK (a friend of Renee Blodgett)
- David Gusick / M / Westport, CT (a friend of Jonathan Guttenberg)
- Mick Adams / M / Hobart, Australia (a friend of Lon Harris)
- Walter Allen / M / Saint Louis, MO
- Bob Martens / 23 / M / Mankato, MN
- Jorge Arguedas / 39 / M / San Jose, CA
- Don MacAskill / 32 / M / Mountain View, CA (a friend of Robert Scoble)
- Dan Fost / M / SF, CA (a friend of Michael Arrington)
- Joe Dominick / 44 / M / Parkville, MD
- Nate Ritter / M / San Diego, CA (a friend of Noah Kagan)
- Damon Oldcorn / M / London, UK (a friend of Joan Lockwood)
- Scott Stevens / 35 / M / Greer, SC
- Arianna O'Dell / F / Seattle, WA (a friend of Andru Edwards)
- Peter Winick / 41 / M / NYC, NY (a friend of Mark Goulston)

You can add them to your network of trusted friends by visiting
http://vark.com/friends.
Then you'll be connected to their friends too for asking and answering
questions!

Thanks,
- Aardvark

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Oct 30, 2009

Max Ventilla said...

Jason,

Here at Aardvark, we follow the emerging norms around privacy that other sites, such as Facebook, have established. In Facebook, you are suggested people that you might know to add as friend connections. You see the picture, full name, and networks (including location) that these people belong to. This is very similar for the kind of content you are seeing in emails from Aardvark such as this. In many cases you have indicated that you know these people on one of the web applications that you use and we are able to offer a better service by having you give further explicit feedback about your connection to these people.

Would be happy to get your thoughts on this assuming you think there is an actual issue. We respond to every email to feedback@vark.com and you can always contact me directly any time (@ventilla on twitter).

Best,
Max

Btw, publishing the names and cities of people publicly on your blog seems to carry very different privacy implications than a private email sent to you.

Eli said...

On Facebook, isn't in the Network, and not necessarily the exact city name?

Oct 31, 2009

Alfred DeRose said...

Jason, sorry but I have to agree with Max. Aardvark fail or not, broadcasting the same list of names and cities to the whole JCal universe may not have been the best thing to do in the name of protecting the privacy of those people.

Ryan Ozawa said...

I don't see the problem here, at least in terms of what Aardvark is sharing via e-mail. Posting it on the web is another matter entirely. But, as one of the named people you may know above... you have my retroactive permission to publish!

jasoncalacanis’s posterous

Aardvark privacy fail.... you're really sending me peoples names and cities?

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