A Chrome extension called Facebook Friend Exporter that lets you grab all the information about your Facebook friends so you can import them elsewhere has been in the Chrome Web Store since last year. Interestingly, it became popular just a few weeks ago (you know why), and Facebook has decided to block it for obvious reason.
With the rise of Facebook, the world witnessed the biggest migration of recent times. In case you are wondering, it was from Orkut to FB. Later, Google tried to get its Orkutians back from FB land with the help of Buzz, but failed miserably. However, the company is striking at Facebook yet again with its new service called Google+, and this time it has managed to create a lot of interest among enthusiasts. Finally, something to worry the mighty Facebook. Since the Chrome extension was making it easy for users to pack their bags and leave, Facebook decided to block it.
With the rise of Facebook, the world witnessed the biggest migration of recent times. In case you are wondering, it was from Orkut to FB. Later, Google tried to get its Orkutians back from FB land with the help of Buzz, but failed miserably. However, the company is striking at Facebook yet again with its new service called Google+, and this time it has managed to create a lot of interest among enthusiasts. Finally, something to worry the mighty Facebook. Since the Chrome extension was making it easy for users to pack their bags and leave, Facebook decided to block it.
In response, the developer has posted the following message on the extension's page:
"Facebook is trying so hard to not allow you to export your friends. They started to remove emails of your friends from your profile by today July 5th 2011. It will no longer work for many people. New version with a different design is currently deploying. You might have to do exports daily. It uses a different approach, and I will maintain this version. Just bear with me".
The developer seems very angry over FB's move, but if you check the website's terms, you can clearly see that Facebook Friend Exporter technically violates FB s Terms of Service, which states the following:
"You will not collect users content or information, or otherwise access Facebook, using automated means (such as harvesting bots, robots, spiders, or scrapers) without our permission".
Only time will tell whether Google+ can really dethrone FB. Till then, it will be fun to observe the two internet giants take cracks at each other.
"Facebook is trying so hard to not allow you to export your friends. They started to remove emails of your friends from your profile by today July 5th 2011. It will no longer work for many people. New version with a different design is currently deploying. You might have to do exports daily. It uses a different approach, and I will maintain this version. Just bear with me".
The developer seems very angry over FB's move, but if you check the website's terms, you can clearly see that Facebook Friend Exporter technically violates FB s Terms of Service, which states the following:
"You will not collect users content or information, or otherwise access Facebook, using automated means (such as harvesting bots, robots, spiders, or scrapers) without our permission".
Only time will tell whether Google+ can really dethrone FB. Till then, it will be fun to observe the two internet giants take cracks at each other.
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