Path's privacy problem poses questions for all social apps.

(From Guardian Unlimited)

Social photography startup Path has apologised to its users for uploading and storing their phone contacts on its servers, but the controversy looks set to spread far beyond that one company, as Silicon Valley wakes up to the fact that privacy is an issue that can derail even the slickest social apps.

The backlash against Path started with a blog post by Arun Thampi , who discovered that the company's app was sending users' address books to its servers.

The story was soon splashed across the blogosphere, leading Path's chief executive Dave Morin to make a public apology -- titled simply "We are sorry" -- on the company's own blog.

"We made a mistake. Over the last couple of days users brought to light an issue concerning how we handle your personal information on Path, specifically the transmission and …