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The hacking of the social app: how we're creating a vulnerable generation

We're teaching our kids to be vulnerable by creating a social media app that's easily hacked.

By Aymeric DelaplacePublished 2 years ago 4 min read
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The hacking of the social app: how we're creating a vulnerable generation
Photo by Onur Binay on Unsplash

Apps. An essential part of the 21st century. The telephone, meet your replacement. Apps have been revolutionizing society, from communication to travel and entertainment, but did you realize that apps are also revolutionizing something else? Our children. Apps can consume as much time as a television, if not more; and they're all too easy for them to gain access to.

They show excessive pictures of happy people on tropical islands with cool cars, amazing furniture and smiling kids in front of pools and on beaches...all seeming like it's within reach because, well you can buy those products with a few taps. It doesn't bat an eyelash at the fact that most kids who see the ads via apps don't get this lifestyle or even close to what is shown in the ads.

The hacking of the social-media self

There was a time when you could be reasonably sure that the person you were talking to over the phone wasn't being impersonated by a hacker. Not so with social media. The hacking of the social-media self is a new phenomenon, and it's happening because of our own compulsive need to share everything about ourselves online.

The dangers are real: You can be impersonated in an embarrassing video or defamed in a fake tweet. Your photos can be stolen and used in porn. Your account can be hijacked and used to harass other people — even strangers — on your behalf. And that's just the start of it.

It's not just celebrities like Jennifer Lawrence who have been targeted by hackers; anyone whose personal information has been leaked from an online database (such as Ashley Madison) is at risk for being impersonated online.

Stories of stolen kids and child stars

We’re living in a hyper-connected world, where apps and social media are a huge part of our lives. But all this connectivity comes with a price — a price that could be your privacy or even your children. Social media sites like Facebook, Instagram and Twitter are free for users to use, but they make their money from advertisers who pay to have their products promoted to users on the platform.

This means that these companies need to know as much about you as possible so they can target ads to you more effectively. This also means that these companies need to make sure that their users are happy with them so they don’t stop using their services or migrate elsewhere.

But there’s another reason why social media companies want to know everything about us — it makes us more vulnerable. And if you think about it, this makes perfect sense: if someone can hack into your account (and they can), then they can pretend they’re you and do whatever they want on your behalf — including posting inappropriate content or sending messages to other people without your consent.

The hacking of the computer self

We've become accustomed to the idea that our computers can be hacked. But what about the hacking of the computer self? The concept of a "hacked" self is not new. We have seen it in movies such as The Matrix, where a person's sense of reality is altered by machines.

But now a new generation of apps is giving us the ability to create our own reality. And that changes everything. Apps like Instagram, Snapchat and Facebook allow us to filter and manipulate our own images so we can present them in the best possible light. Apps such as Prisma allow us to take other people's photos and edit them so they look like paintings by famous artists.

And then there are apps like FaceApp, which allows you to change your face on demand — making you look younger or older, thinner or fatter, depending on how you feel at any given moment. This past week I was with my daughter and her friend at an ice cream shop near my home in New Jersey when they both opened their phones and started taking selfies with Snapchat filters on full display: hearts over their eyes, puppy dog noses and puppy dog ears.

One solution is another app

In the wake of the Instagram hack, many are wondering how safe their accounts really are. The answer is: not very. The hackers behind the Instagram breach gained access to our passwords because we used them for other services. The most common reason for this is that people use the same password across multiple sites and apps.

But there's another reason why apps can be hacked: because they're insecure by design. A number of developers have been trying to get away from the idea that apps need to be installed on a device in order to work. One solution is another app: they create an account with a service like Instagram or Facebook and then log you in through their own app when you want to use it.

But this approach has major security flaws – if someone gets hold of your login details, they could log into your account directly through the app without having to download anything at all. Another approach is web apps – websites that allow users to log into accounts without installing anything on their phones or tablets at all.

All in All...

This is a trend that must be reversed. If the recent vulnerability with Path is any indication, we cannot hope to protect our children through a password alone. Even more alarming than this blow to privacy is the damage such an attack could have on individuals: it may not be too far-fetched to imagine a "revenge porn" attack in which explicit photos get posted to someone's account without their consent.

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About the Creator

Aymeric Delaplace

💬 Hello, I'm Aymeric 📱. 👋 I write about apps, software and businesses for kids for publications like TechCrunch 🌟. 🤔Have a question? DM me on Twitter or e-mail my email address. 👈❤️

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  • Norbert Monteil3 months ago

    Aymeric, you've successfully 'hacked' my attention span with your elegant prose! Who knew a discourse on social app vulnerabilities could be as thrilling as an agent 007 movie? I'm eagerly ready to 'accept cookies' if they're as tasty as your articles. Looking forward to your next digital exposé!

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