Protecting your privacy in Facebook Social Reader Application

While using Facebook you must have come across FB Social Reader App
displaying what articles your friends have read in your Newsfeed or Ticker. And if you too are interested in reading that article, first you must like that App and then the app will have access to all your personal data. Some most common publishers are The Washington Post, Yahoo!, Spotify etc..

There are following workarounds for this--

• Change your privacy setting for that individual app.

1. To do this go to your Privacy Setting page.
2. Click on edit settings of Apps and Websites.
3. There you can change settings for individual apps.
4. You should click on the X next to Add app activity to your timeline.
   
5. Then go to App activity privacy and select “Custom” from the dropdown menu.
6. Choose “Only me” from the drop down menu next to “These people or lists.”

This method has a drawback thought that the Publisher will have access to your personal information. This method just doesn’t let them publish on your time line.

• Click on cancel whenever app asks you to be added on your Account

1. This workaround works if haven't, added the Apps yet.
2. Click on the article you want to read.
3. You will be taken to a page Asking for your permission to be added to your Facebook account.
4. Just click cancel button and you will automatically be taken to the article.

Advantage of this method is that your personal information is not shared with the Publisher. But you’ll have to click on Cancel every time you want to read  article.

• Using Extensions

There are two extensions for Google Chrome that do the job for you

• Facebook Unsocial Reader

This is Google Chrome extension that searches for Article’s title using Google’s I’m feeling lucky option. In this way you also get related articles from other sources as well.

• Facebook Social Reader Bypass

This Google Chrome extension alters the Social Reader article’s link to direct links.

• Frictionless Clicking

Frictionless Clicking is a browser extension that lets you read articles on Facebook without being prompted to add apps.
If you come across any other method or extension let us know.