Thursday, 17 May 2012
Undoing damage from Facebook’s ‘contact stealing’ function
Undoing damage from Facebook’s ‘contact stealing’ function
By SecurityAsia Editors | Aug 17, 2011
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PrintFacebook users accessing the service via mobile applications installed on the iPhone or any other smartphone may be in for a rude shock.
In what many may view as a breach of privacy, the contact syncing function on these mobile apps has in fact led to each and every entry on a user’s phone contact list being stored on Facebook’s servers.
A user’s complete contact list could likely now be in Facebook’s possession, regardless of whether a contact has a Facebook account. This includes names and telephone numbers of friends, business contacts, retail stores and restaurants, among others.
Concerned users can check here to see if they have been unwittingly affected.
The resulting uproar from this discovery has led Facebook to deliver an official response:
“Rumors claiming that your phone contacts are visible to everyone on Facebook are false. Our Contacts list, formerly called Phonebook, has existed for a long time. The phone numbers listed there were either added directly to Facebook and shared with you by your friends, or you have previously synced your phone contacts with Facebook. Just like on your phone, only you can see these numbers.”
Users who remain uncomfortable with this feature, however, can undo the damage by following these steps:
1) Visit Facebook.com on PC or Mac
2) Click on Account then Edit Friends in the top right corner
3) Click on Contacts in the left menu
4) Check that contacts listed are indeed from your phone
5) Click on the ‘visit this page’ link on the right, which brings you here.
6) Follow the instructions listed. Contact sync will also have to be disabled on your mobile app.
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