I'm getting off the Path until they delete ALL the data and start over

UPDATE: Well Path friends, it looks like they took quick action and according to this blog post they deleted all user uploaded contact data so you can start over again with Path. I was very pleased to hear this and am installing Path back onto my iPhone.

Like many of you readers, I am a fan of social networking services and use them as ways to stay in touch with family, friends, and acquaintances. I use Facebook just for close family and friends, Twitter for my readers and friends who may just be virtual friends, and lately I have been using Path for a smaller sub-group of friends. Path is a slick piece of software on Android and iOS, but it looks like I will be taking it off my devices after the latest discovery of their failed privacy practices.

I accept that I put myself out there on the Internet and am not that concerned about my privacy. However, Path uploaded my entire address book to its servers and I am sure there are those in my contact list that would not appreciate having their info on a 3rd party server. Jason recommended a few steps they could take, but I think the critical first step is to simply wipe ALL data from their servers and start over. The Path co-founder and CEO, Dave Morin, has been interacting with readers on Arun Thampi's site, but the requirement that individual users email their service team to have their data deleted is ridiculous. Someone may not care that their data was uploaded, but a person in that contact list may care and without a full data wipe they have no ability to have their info deleted.

With Facebook and Twitter, I have no urgent need for Path and grabbing my data without asking makes it easy to leave the service. It doesn't seem like they had any malicious intent, but the fact that they cannot properly program their service and took the data without asking is enough for me to question their accountability in the future.