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Several readers have asked us about messages received via Facebook Chat concerning Rockmelt. The invitation to use the browser can also appear as a status update shown below:

 Rockmelt is a web browser with built-in social media integration. Here is a screenshot taken from their home page showing how you can surf the web with your Facebook news, notifications, sharing options and chat easily available:

After downloading and installing the software, you have to link your Facebook account. This is done via a Facebook application. By installing the Facebook app, you give Rockmelt the following permissions:

The following disclaimer is posted by Rockmelt explaining why it needs the permissions shown above:

“Why is RockMelt asking for these permissions?

From RockMelt: These let you share, chat, see notifications, and check your inbox right from RockMelt. We’ll never update your status without permission.“

After installing the application, you are asked what apps you would like to install. Next you are asked if you want to invite your friends via Facebook message. The reason people are receiving chat messages is that Facebook considers Messages and Chats the same:

From Facebook Help:

“How does chat work with messages? Chat and message histories are threaded together – you can think of them as one and the same. When you open a conversation you’re having with Jane, you’ll see a log that includes all your messages along with your entire chat history. If you send a friend who is offline a chat message, the chat message will be logged in your Messages for you to reference later.”

Rockmelt’s Privacy FAQ states the following:

Will RockMelt automatically update my Facebook status or spam my friends’ walls?
No. RockMelt will never post new status updates on your wall or your friends’ walls without your permission. The only status updates RockMelt posts are the ones you post yourself using RockMelt’s Share button and sharing features. The “Post to my Wall” permission RockMelt asks for when you sign in is better understood as a “Use RockMelt to post to my Wall” permission, and is needed to let you share on your own wall from RockMelt.

The messages/chats being circulated are not spam, and they are definitely not a virus. Users of the Rockmelt browser are choosing to invite their friends when they install the browser.