Facebook has been saving call and text data from Android users for years.
However, the company explained this act and clarified this Sunday that it only saves data from the users that opt for the feature when installing the Messenger app or Facebook Lite. But, people have expressed that they were not aware of this feature. More and more Facebook users are now becoming educated and aware of the data they are sharing with the social media platform and how their information is being used based on the recent scandal involving Cambridge Analytica.
Some Android users recently noticed that Facebook has a rich virtual bank of their personal call data which extends back several years. Android users have found out extremely detailed personal data by pulling down archived data from Facebook. It has created quite a scandal.
The information comprises of phone numbers, call logs with names, and the length of each call. The user report and data practice was first reported by tech news site Ars Technica, to which Facebook gave a statement that the call logs are a widely used practice when it comes to uploading the contacts. And according to Facebook, people who don’t want their data saved can turn off the feature any time from its settings and it will also delete previously shared call and text data.
Facebook is under immense pressure from privacy advocates, advertisers, and users. And so, Sunday was forced to take out ads in major publications in order to apologize for the scandal.
