Facebook has your private phone number!
By ThomasVH
@ThomasVH (381)
Belgium
October 8, 2010 10:01am CST
Yes your read it right! FaceBook has your private personal phone number!
FaceBook Sync is a service for the iPhone that let you syncronize your friends' profile picture with your contacts on your phone so you have a picture added to them.
FaceBook will first upload all of your number in your address book to do a comparison with your friends. So this means that FaceBook owns all of these numbers! In other words: if a friend of you have this iPhone app and syncs his contacts (including YOU!), your private number will be uploaded to YouTube automatically!
If I go further with this information, I can conclude this; if someone hacks your profile or that from a friend of you; he can acces YOUR phonenumber and that of ALL of your friends!
Thus if you do not use FaceBook, your phone number can STILL be owned by FaceBook!
Should FaceBook change this or do you agree FaceBook can do this without a clear warning to his users?
2 people like this
11 responses
@rosdimy (3926)
• Malaysia
9 Oct 10
Interesting, but it does not affect everybody, does it? iPhone users have the option to not use the service.
I am not sure what the exact terms are but users should be able to make an educated guess on what will happen should they subscribe to the service. In a way Facebook can do it, otherwise Facebook Sync will lack functionality.
I am not worried about it because I refrain from opening too many security doors on the Internet.
1 person likes this
@shia88 (4571)
• Malaysia
9 Oct 10
Hi,
Last week, I do received an email from my friend that
through facebook, I can actually view my friend contact numbers,
I tried to follow the steps and I did saw some of my friends numbers.
Then I faster go check up my own profile and glad that I never
enclose my contact number there.
At least, I am safe.
it is pretty dangerous to disclose our contact number to public as they are
lot of hackers nowadays,I prefer to keep my profile in secret mode.
1 person likes this
@amanca (91)
• Italy
8 Oct 10
Are you sure? If this is true this would be amazing! I think Facebook should inform about that the person and let her choose if it agrees to the service. And I also think that they should include some sort of protection to prevent stealing of personal information from Facebook Sync or maybe they already did it. You should ask those questions to facebook support and see what do they say. I'm curious too. Btw, I have not an iPhone, but I have an Android phone with facebook app installed onto it, so I'm curious too. Take us informed ;)
1 person likes this
@ThomasVH (381)
• Belgium
8 Oct 10
Well, this privacy issue is also there for the iPhone app for Android phones! The same thing happens when you sync your device with your friends on FaceBook.
I think FaceBook is getting more powerful because of all the personal information they own of almost everyone on the whole planet! This is indeed just an amazing fact! :O
But I can tell you I am also in one way 'afraid' because of FaceBook can use MY personal information and that of my friends to sell it or other kind of things they can do with it I do not agree with!
I think FaceBook should adapt their privacy rules because now it sounds like they 'steal' your information and that of your friends.
1 person likes this
@kodukodu84 (1569)
• Malaysia
9 Oct 10
I only use my laptop to get an access to my facebook account and never thought of using my mobile phone as it could be dangerous, so I have no issue with all this privacy trouble. They are also people who actually put their phone number in their facebook account without having to use mobile phone to access facebook.
But yes, everyone should have been informed before they make this changes. But when I went to the phone book page, there is a choice of keeping your number invisible from your friends and just keep it to yourself, you just need to go and play about with the privacy setting but of course there's no way for you to get if off of facebook.
Happy mylotting and have a nice day
1 person likes this
@nicococo (134)
•
9 Oct 10
Is this true? I doubt it, very much. And what's the point... them "owning" a private number? If they know it, then so what? Will they harass you or call you? No. It's just a matter of watching what you upload, and watching your password. I don't think anyone should panic over something as petty and as unsure as this.
1 person likes this
@mariacecilia13 (490)
• Philippines
9 Oct 10
That's disturbing! I think facebook should do something about that immediately, and you are right, users should always be warned, or else they can invade so much of our privacy.
1 person likes this
@Celanith (2327)
• United States
9 Oct 10
I do not use any iphone or blackberry or any other cell phone number on facebook, only have a landline and don't want nothing else so not worried about that at all. As to owning the phone number well I think it must only be cell phones if your stupid enough to use that on Facebook knowing in this day and age you can be hacked and some rotten person gets all your ID info then it is your fault they have it. Change your number, better yet use a landline phone
@gdesjardin (1918)
• United States
9 Oct 10
I just heard about this a few days ago hear on MyLot. I quickly went into Facebook to have my number removed only to find out that I didn't even give my correct cell phone number...which I am sure I probably did on purpose anyways. I usually don't give my correct number out to places like that because I figure why in the world would Face Book contact me anyways. If they need to get ahold of me they can correspond with me via email.
@anurag3786 (6267)
• India
9 Oct 10
Yes I have also noticed this when I go to edit friends sections in mylot. And I find their options of phonebook. And I check this then I find many persons contact number who is added in my facebook profile. I think when a person creates their profile then many person give their contact number so now this number are shown in phonebooks.
@Butch_Harding (55)
• United States
9 Oct 10
If you don't want FaceBook to have your private number then don't post it on there. There is nothing in the rules that say you have to furnish your address or phone number. You post what information you want p[eople to get off FaceBook.. I think FaceBook should keep private and your address should be private too.
