The flood of new Facebook “Lifestyle” apps began last week, expanding the “frictionless sharing” that Facebook has touted ever since last year’s F8 conference, and which it debuted in the limelight with notables like the Washington Post Reader and Spotify. Now is the rush of new verbs, and you can see what people are not only reading and listening to, but what their eating, watching and visiting.

If you’re not familiar with frictionless sharing, though, keep in mind:  As anyone who has ever tried to start a fire with two sticks can tell you, sometimes friction is a good thing. In the old, frictiony world fo Facebook, an application had to interrupt you every time it wanted to share something on your profile.  Interruptive, yes, but at least you knew what was going out and when.  In the teflon-coated world of frictionless sharing though, these new applications will ask you once, and only once, if you want to share.  After you say yes, anything you do with that application can and likely will be shared!

It's the gift that keeps on giving!

Been using Washington Post Reader for a while? Don’t be surprised if your friend stops you in the hall and asks why you were reading that expose on squirrel extortion rings last night. Indulging some guilty pleasures on Spotify? You are likely to be judged by a jury of your peers.  You didn’t just share the one article or song you read or listened to the first time, but every single one of them since then also.

To restrict who sees what, or to remove the apps altogether, go to the pulldown arrow in the upper right corner of your home page and select “Account Settings.”

On the subsequent screen, click “Apps.”

Finally, select “Edit” for the app in question and change your settings.

You can thank us later.