Review of SocialSafe: 11/1/09
Version of Social Safe being reviewed: 1.2.395
I was really excited when I read about SocialSafe for Facebook. I thought it would be an amazing way to capture my Facebook and save it for when I’m old and forgetful. Unfortunately, it seems that SocialSafe can’t seem to get it right. I really hope they aren’t going to try to expand and make versions for Myspace or Twitter until they can get Facebook right. I’m extremely disapointed in the results of a program that claims to be past beta. If the people at iBundle and 1minus1 had been more truthful about how Social Safe is a work in progress, I wouldn’t have been this rough on them.
Pros of SocialSafe:
- Swanky user interface
- Documents when people become your facebook friends or defriend you.
- Downloads all the photos that you uploaded to facebook. If you ever loose the originals (like if your hard drive dies, or someone steals your computer), SocialSafe can get them for you. SocialSafe can only download the images you uploaded, so you won’t be able to download any of your friend’s pictures that you’re tagged in. However, I suggest that you save your money and download FacePAD (Facebook Photo Album Downloader). FacePAD is a free add-on to Firefox that will let you download all the pictures that you’re tagged in, your friends, albums, and your own pictures. Beat that SocialSafe.
Cons of Social Safe:
- It only saved 11 of my status updates (8 from October 2009, and 3 from September 2007), which is ridiculous failure considering that I probably have over 100 status from the past 3 years of having Facebook. I didn’t think that SocialSafe was a beta program, but it seems like they have major issues to work out.
- It saved 0 of my wall posts, even though I gave SocialSafe additional permissions to download them. Uhh… guys, I think that’s something that should work right out of the box.
- It doesn’t save other people’s pictures that you’re tagged in. It will only download pictures that I originally uploaded, which is pretty useless since I have the originals. Why would I want low resolution copies?
- It doesn’t download notes, which should be something pretty basic.
- It doesn’t save any of your friends information. This seems like it should be a given. I’m not going to remember who the heck half these people are in 4 years, so it might be nice to at least see what network they’re in. Calling the programmers at SocialSafe… I don’t actually talk to 75% of my Facebook ‘Friends,’ so I really need to have something remember them by instead of a little tiny thumbnail.
- The user interface needs some works. It looks sweet, but seriously it’s barely usable. I’m sorry, but I thought of Transformers when I saw the column of chevrons on the download screen.
Don’t spend $2.99 on a product that isn’t finished. Social Safe might be worth it someday, but not today. Save your money now that I know I wasted my $3 on this piece of crap. Don’t be fooled by their British accents!
EDIT: Here’s the email I got in response to my complaint, with my commentary (11/8/09):
Thanks for your e-mail.
Unfortunately the Facebook API only allows the backing up of the last 100 Status Updates. [Shnugi: The sales pitch didn't mention that limitation] That said, it is unclear why the application downloaded only 11 of your Status Updates (8 from October 2009 and 3 from September 2007). We would like to investigate this further and would be grateful if you could send us your log file [Shnugi: I sent it, but I'm not expecting them to do anything about it.]. Details on where this can be found are below.
In addition to the restriction on the number of Status Updates, the API only
allows the downloading of a limited range of data. Although SocialSafe does
not currently make use of the full range of data available through the API,
we do intend adding further functionality through a series of application
updates and these updates will be free to existing users. Product
enhancements will include the backing-up of inbox messages, notes, links and
even Facebook Fan Pages. [Shnugi: Kay thanx for telling me this AFTER I spend my money]Tagged Photos too will be downloadable in the future but, compliant with
Facebook’s rules, will need the explicit permission of the photo’s owner.
We did launch with that functionality but without explicit permission.
However, communication from Facebook highlighted the risks to our API access
through non-compliance and so we have had to suspend our Tagged Photo
download functionality pending further application development. [Shnugi: Someone got burned by Facebook, maybe you should emphasize your strict limitations. I saw nothing about it on the FAQ. I sure would've appreciated it]You can keep a track of our progress via http://socialsafe.uservoic e.com, by
becoming a fan of our Facebook Page at http://www.facebook.com/ socialsafeapp
or following our blog www.socialsaf e.net/blog. [Shnugi: No links for you!, Like I'm going to be a fan of this crap.]Looking forward to hearing from you.
Kind Regards,
George MooreCustomer & Technical Support
Here are some screenshots of SocialSafe:
