Hipster and Path have apologized after it was reported that they had ‘inadvertently’ uploaded users’ address-book information without consent.

Although Hipster and Path sounds like a Sly Stallone and Kurt Russell film from the 80s, they are in fact social networking and media app developers. Addressing the issue in a blog post for TechCrunch, Hipster CEO Doug Ludlow stated, “needless to say we’re pretty embarrassed by the situation. Embarrassed not because we had malicious goals in mind (we don’t store the contact data we pull – we just match it to existing users), but embarrassed by the fact that we pushed a feature that doesn’t meet our standards for the protection of our user’s data.”

That is all fine and good, and his call on other developers to have a ‘summit’ on application privacy is not a bad idea, but maybe there needs to be a little more verification on the part of developers and the hosts of those apps, like the App Store and Android Market, before these apps get pushed onto consumers. Yes, there is a time element involved in getting an app on the market, but surely there has to be some accountability.

If you watch the demo on the Path site, the young host says that she uses path to “share photos and videos, who I am with, where I am…what I am thinking, and when I a wake up and go to sleep”. You see where this going, yes? The young lady goes on to say that “Path 2 automatically shares when I change neighborhoods.” Am I the only one troubled by this sales pitch?

This sounds like something Drew Barrymore might have said in the opening to a Wes Craven film. I don’t mean to make light of this, because there is something serious at play here. And that something is our personal information.

Although there are some things that are very wrong with the SOPA and ACTA legislations, one gets the impression that much of what was being protested was a desire to keep the Internet free and flowing, with everything that implies. But perhaps what we should be focusing on more is safeguarding our information.

Now most of these types of social networking apps have security features, but they are not always visible or transparent (not the same things). That is part of the problem. Maybe the onus does fall on us. We so quickly download and install apps without actually taking the time to see how they function. A little research on an application’s security features is never a bad idea. After that, it’s in the hands of the developer, which requires a HUGE leap of faith on the part of the user.