They used to provide this option but it actually made the API harder to work with. You could deny or approve one permission at a time and the developer had to handle it (and by handling that really meant always checking for permissions before actions and bugging the user for the permission whenever they tried something that required it). As a developer I prefer the new way, which is also how Android development works. Giving line-item veto to a user is a terrible idea. If they don't like the permissions, don't use the app. It's good for Facebook's api too because now people aren't constantly checking which permissions are available before they do something, probably reducing the stress on the API quite a bit.

Are you serious? A better API would be if it were just a yes or no to send all my information? I couldn't possibly disagree more.

Newflash: I don't give a shit about how hard your job as a programmer is. If you don't like programming take up something else. I care about my security and not having to worry about what effect clicking "OK" is going to have. Plenty of apps ask you things that they don't need to function.

I love being an engineer. You have a chip on your shoulder. I recommend not using Facebook at all given your concerns. I do not maintain a Facebook account myself for anything but development.

I have a chip on my shoulder? I'm speaking as a customer. You're giving me excuses as to why I should compromise my own convenience and security to make your job easier. Why on earth would I care about making your job easier?

Facebook provides value and poor, lazy anti-security undermines that value and puts me in the inconvenient position of thinking of a move [1]. And for what value? So developers don't have to write a switch statement? Seriously?

[1] It's not as simple as "just take your business elsewhere". The only purpose of facebook for me is connecting with friends and family. So going while they all stay is rather pointless. Getting other people, who have a different circle of friends/family, to move with me would be practically impossible.

Interesting, I didn't know that.

> Giving line-item veto to a user is a terrible idea.

Giving the user choice about whether or not they want to give up their personal information is a great idea. Suppose I don't want the app to have my email and phone number. Without finer-grained control, my only option is to say no to the entire app -- so they lose me as a user.

They'll gain more users by reducing options which make things less confusing than they'll lose because they didn't give fine grain control.

Are you sure? Unless I am misremembering, much of the Facebook code I see and write verifies permissions after they are accepted to see what you actually got.