Having to use an app to read links through Facebook is a trend.
A friend ran into it with Yahoo that then shared her articles read with her friends. The Guardian has a similar app. Essentially, if someone posts a link to certain publications it asks you to use the app. You don’t have to and says so but it seems like you do.
I’ve heard that the app then shows what you read to your followers. My friends experience shows that is true. I’d hope that you can turn that off but even if it does, it shouldn’t be the default choice.
Better yet, the trend towards apps to open links means that there could be less sharing of content off of Facebook on Facebook which kinda goes against the spirit of social media.
You can still share the same links to the publications using apps on Facebook on other forms of social media such as Twitter. As a result, those other forms may be where this info is shared.
