Path, has apologised to its 2-million plus users for uploading users’ iPhone address books without permission. Path is a social network that works as a “smart journal” aimed at helping you share life with “the ones you love”, and is experiencing a revival since its version 2.0 release last year.
The internet has been in an uproar with reports from iPhone users complaining that the service had uploaded their address books without their permission or knowledge. The company’s founder Dave Morin, one of Facebook’s original team, apologised to users in a long and detailed blogpost.
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“We made a mistake. Over the last couple of days users brought to light an issue concerning how we handle your personal information on Path, specifically the transmission and storage of your phone contacts.”
“As our mission is to build the world’s first personal network, a trusted place for you to journal and share life with close friends and family, we take the storage and transmission of your personal information very, very seriously,” wrote Morin.
A report from Gawker claims that Morin said the content wasn’t meant to be on Path’s servers in the first place.
Morin had told Gawker in an email that:
“One of our core principles here is that you must have contact information for someone in order to find them on Path. Usually, you have contact information for your close friends. Path does not retain or store any of your information in any way.”
Morin’s apology seems to have put Twitter at ease. Since apologising he has received virtual pats on the back for the apology, including one from Twitter’s Platforms Head, Ryan Sarver.
Impressed with how @davemorin has responded under extreme pressure blog.path.com/post/172749324…
— JP Rangaswami (@jobsworth) February 9, 2012
Much respect – how many CEO’s have the balls to say this blog.path.com/post/172749324… Thank You @DaveMorin
— Tim Langley (@TimLangley) February 9, 2012
I commend @davemorin and @path on their response to the situation. They have done a good job of openly communicating and taking action
— Ryan Sarver (@rsarver) February 8, 2012
The latest Path update to the iOS app, now available on the App Store, Path version 2.0.6 will prompt users to opt in or out of sharing their phones’ contacts with the app, something it should have done in the first place. Users are still able to change their minds. When they do they can email Path’s customer service department and Path will delete the information from its servers.
