I use  a few other apps not listed on Mashable’s top ten poll, some of my personal top Facebook apps include:

• Twitter for pages
• Networked Blogs
• YouTube for Pages

My advice for using Facebook apps is pretty much the same as my advice on using WordPress plugins: only use them when they will serve a need, and when you know how to use them. Facebook apps are vulnerable to hacking¹, and many Facebook apps have been hacked.  No need to take unnecessary risk with your personal information, especially for newer, untested apps.

Are Facebook Apps Safe?

While I would not say that all Facebook apps are unsafe, I do believe that many of them are. One security researcher recently discovered that over 9,700 Facebook applications were vulnerable to attack, including some of the most widely used and considered safe applications (FarmVille, Causes, LivingSocial, Movies, Farm Town, and YoVille²).

I find the news of such a wide scale security issue with Facebook apps to be alarming. All the more reason to only use as few apps as you really need. It’s not worth risking the security of your personal information just to play an online game.

Choose your apps wisely and always seek to keep your personal information as secure as possible.

To Your Success,

P.S. What Facebook apps do you use?

Footnotes

¹ http://www.techcrunch.com/2009/11/05/massive-facebook-and-myspace-flash-vulnerability-exposes-user-data/

² http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/how_safe_are_facebook_applications.php