Facebook says it will stop using users’ contact numbers in its friends’ recommendation system in 2020 following various concerns about privacy implications. This is part of a settlement with US regulators by the company and it will be completed in 2020.
Facebook admitted to feeding the phone numbers of users to targeted advertising and friends’ recommendation systems.
Users of the social networking site can now also choose to have a code sent to their mobile phones when logging in to make access harder for hackers.
Two-step authentication makes it harder for attackers to break into an online account because they’ll need both the password and a one-time password (OTP) sent to the account holder’s mobile phone.
Back in 2018, Facebook was exposed as also using the phone numbers to target advertising and to power its ‘People You May Know’ feature. This feature recommends potential Facebook friends.
Privacy advocates and security researchers say that the practice is deceptive and can erode trust in two-factor authentication
Also Read:
Trump’s Impeachment: What It Could Mean For Tech
Account Information Of 267 Million Facebook Users Leak Online
Airbnb Wins Landmark Case, Court Rules That It’s Not An Estate Agent
How The People You May Know Feature Works
The ‘People You May Know’ feature helps to identify people you might want to add to your Facebook friends list.
It works by using certain metrics to help add friends. These metrics include:
- having lots of mutual friends on Facebook
- being tagged in a photo together
- being in the same “network”, such as a workplace or school.
However, this means Facebook and Messenger can also access your smartphone’s address book.
Further implying that Facebook can identify people who are contacts in your address book, and may encourage you to add them as friends.
Facebook promised to make these privacy changes as part of a $5bn (£3.8bn) settlement with the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC).
It adds that it no longer uses members’ security phone numbers for advertising since June 2019.
Make sure to follow Plat4om on Twitter @Plat4omLive, on Instagram @Plat4om, on LinkedIn at Plat4om, and on Facebook at Plat4om. You can email us at info@plat4om.com. Also, don’t forget to subscribe to our YouTube channel HERE.