Friday, June 12, 2026
ADVT 
International

Indian American Harvard Student Loses Facebook Internship

IANS, 13 Aug, 2015 02:14 PM
    Facebook cancelled an Indian-origin student's internship after he exposed a serious privacy flaw in the social media giant's messenger service, a media report said.
     
    Aran Khanna's application, Marauder's Map, used data from Facebook Messenger to map users' location when they sent messages, Boston.com reported on Wednesday.
     
    The computer science and math student at Harvard University in Massachusetts, US, posted about his app on social media sites Reddit and Medium in May this year and soon it went viral.
     
    The app caught the attention of Facebook and Mr Khanna was asked to disable it.
     
    However, before it was disabled, the extension was downloaded more than 85,000 times and "shared on over 200 publications", according to Mr Khanna.
     
    About a week later, Facebook released a Messenger app update to provide users "full control over when and how you share your location information".
     
    Facebook cancelled Mr Khanna's summer internship, saying he did not meet the high ethical standards expected from the interns.
     
    The student accepted another internship with a tech start-up in Silicon Valley and later detailed the experience in a case study titled 'Facebook's Privacy Incident Response: A study of geolocation sharing on Facebook Messenger' in the Harvard Journal of Technology Science

    MORE International ARTICLES

    US terms cancellation of India-Pakistan talks 'unfortunate'

    US terms cancellation of India-Pakistan talks 'unfortunate'
    As India called off foreign secretary-level talks with Pakistan over its envoy's meeting with Kashmiri separatists, the US termed the cancellation "unfortunate"...

    US terms cancellation of India-Pakistan talks 'unfortunate'

    Police, protesters collide in Ferguson, a day after National Guard arrives in St. Louis suburb

    Police, protesters collide in Ferguson, a day after National Guard arrives in St. Louis suburb
    FERGUSON, Mo. - The National Guard arrived in Ferguson but kept its distance from the streets where protesters clashed again with police, as clouds of tear gas and smoke hung over...

    Police, protesters collide in Ferguson, a day after National Guard arrives in St. Louis suburb

    Anti-Government Protests, Including One Led By A Canadian, Cripple Pakistani Capital

    Anti-Government Protests, Including One Led By A Canadian, Cripple Pakistani Capital
    ISLAMABAD - Twin protests demanding the Pakistani government step down — one led by a Canadian — have wreaked havoc in the capital, Islamabad, where commuters must circumvent shipping containers and barbed wire to get to work, protesters knock on people's doors to use the bathroom, and garbage is piling up.

    Anti-Government Protests, Including One Led By A Canadian, Cripple Pakistani Capital

    Obama administration wants cars to talk to each other, saying the technology will save lives

    Obama administration wants cars to talk to each other, saying the technology will save lives
    WASHINGTON - The Obama administration said Monday it is taking a first step toward requiring that future cars and light trucks be equipped with technology that enables them to warn each other of potential danger in time to avoid collisions.

    Obama administration wants cars to talk to each other, saying the technology will save lives

    Father of Amish girls abducted in New York last week feels sorry for suspects

    Father of Amish girls abducted in New York last week feels sorry for suspects
    OSWEGATCHIE, N.Y. - The father of two Amish girls abducted in northern New York last week says he feels sorry for the two people accused of kidnapping and sexually abusing his daughters.

    Father of Amish girls abducted in New York last week feels sorry for suspects

    Missouri governor orders National Guard to protesting suburb to help restore 'peace and order'

    Missouri governor orders National Guard to protesting suburb to help restore 'peace and order'
    Missouri's governor on Monday ordered the National Guard to a St. Louis suburb convulsed by protests over the fatal shooting of an unarmed black teen, after a night...

    Missouri governor orders National Guard to protesting suburb to help restore 'peace and order'