Using Games & Apps Safely
Apps Privacy
On Facebook, your name, profile picture, gender, username, user ID (account number) and networks are publicly available. Apps, games and websites also have access to your friend list and any info you choose to make public.
Note: Apps, games and websites can only publish stories to people within the audience you choose. Learn more about adjusting your privacy settings for your apps and games.
Apps use the info you provide to personalize your experience and connect you with your friends.
When you install an app, you give it permission to access your public profile, which includes your name, profile pictures, username, user ID (account number), networks and any info you choose to make publicly available. You also give the app other info to personalize your experience, including your friends list, gender, age range and locale.
If the app needs additional info to work, such as your email address or birthday, it must explicitly request it. An app may ask for additional info later when you’re using a feature of the app that requires it. You'll have the opportunity to accept or deny the app this info, though doing so may limit what the app can do.
Our Platform Policy restrict how apps can access this info.
Apps Security
Facebook works to ensure that all developers are following our policies. If you’re receiving warnings for a particular app that you’re trying to access via Facebook, please report the app.
Be sure to give a detailed, accurate description of the problem and include links to the relevant pages. We'll then investigate your report and take appropriate action based on our Platform Policy. We also recommend that you check the I would like a copy of this report to be sent to the developer of the app box to bring this matter to the attention of the developer.
Please remember that apps on Facebook Platform are maintained by developers outside of Facebook, and they can link to content outside of Facebook. We recommend that you keep your anti-virus software up to date and run its virus removal feature if you think your computer may have been infected. Keep in mind that you can always remove or restrict apps.
It sounds like your account information was phished. Unfortunately, we can’t help you get your poker chips back. These games are made by other companies, and we don’t have access to their data.
Here’s what you can do:
- Reset your Facebook password
- Report what happened to the developer:
- To contact Zynga, send an email to phishing@zynga.com
- Report another app
- Learn how to spot phishing attempts:
- Review Facebook's tips
- Learn about Zynga's security
Blocking or Removing Apps
If you've allowed an app or game to access your information, you can restrict what it can access by adjusting your app and game settings. You can also remove an app or game you've downloaded if you no longer want it to access your info.
Once you've removed an app or game, it'll no longer be able to access any of your info going forward unless you're allowing your info to be accessed through your friends via the Apps others use setting.
To prevent a specific app or game from accessing any of your info, you can block the app.
Keep in mind if you'd like the info that you've shared with the app or game to be permanently deleted from their records, you'll need to contact the developer directly.
When you block an app or game, it won't be able to access any of your Facebook information or send you any requests.
To block an app or game from your settings:
- Click
at the top right of any Facebook page (ex: your homepage) and select Settings.
- Click Blocking in the left column.
- In the Block apps section, enter the name of the app or game you want to block. You can unblock it by clicking Unblock to the right of its name.
If you received a request from an app or game and you want to block it:
- Go to the App Center and click Activity at the top.
- Click x next to the request.
- Click Block [App/Game Name]? and then click Confirm.
The app or game may have kept info from when you used it. You can contact the developers directly to request that they delete any info they may still have.
If you block someone on Facebook, you'll still be able to see things that person has created within an app, but you shouldn't be able to interact with that person and they shouldn't be able to interact with you in the app.
Keep in mind that apps aren't built by Facebook and are operated by outside developers. If you're still able to interact with someone you blocked on Facebook within an outside app, you'll need to contact the developer of the app.
Facebook isn't responsible for the support provided by developers, but we work to make sure that all outside developers are following our Statement of Rights and Responsibilities. If you find that a developer isn't responding to your questions, please report the app.
Reporting Apps
If you’re experiencing an issue with an outside app, please contact the developer directly. If you have a suggestion or feedback about the Facebook Platform experience, please let us know.
You should report any issues that occur within an app to that app’s developer. You can do this by by clicking Report/Contact this App at the bottom of any page within the app on Facebook.
If you haven't installed the app, you can also click Report App on the app install screen.
The following are some common examples of when to contact a developer:
- The app isn't working properly
- You have a question about a transaction that took place within the app
- The app contains sensitive content
- You have a question about how an app is using your information
- You want to report an interaction with someone that took place while using the app
If you have feedback on your experience with apps on Facebook, let us know.
To report an app or game you're using:
- Scroll down the right side of the page
- Click Report/Contact this App at the bottom right of the page under your ads
![](https://web.archive.org./web/20140702175159im_/https://fbcdn-dragon-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-xpa1/t39.2365-6/851558_641541412544686_2069697955_n.png)
To report an app or game from the App Center:
- Search for the app or game in the search box in the top right
- Click the app or game in the search results
- Click Report a Problem at the bottom
To report an app or game from its app Page:
- Go to the app or game Page
- Click
and then select Report App
- Fill out the form and click Submit
Although Facebook doesn’t control the support provided by app developers, we work to make sure that all outside developers follow our policies. Please report the problem to the app developer directly. If you don’t get a good response, report the app to us.
We also recommend that you block the app and the person who's harassing you. This will prevent them from seeing your information or contacting you in any way on Facebook. They'll not be notified that you've blocked them.
If you see an objectionable ad and the web address in your browser window begins with http://apps.facebook.com/, this is most likely an advertisement running within an outside app and not through Facebook.
If you've confirmed that the ad is running within an outside app, you can report this to the developer by contacting the developer.
Facebook is committed to providing the best experience possible and we continue to investigate ads that violate our policies. If an objectionable advertisement is on Facebook, learn how to report it.