The Briefing Room

General Category => National/Breaking News => Topic started by: thackney on March 04, 2019, 08:25:40 pm

Title: Facebook won't keep your two-factor phone number truly private
Post by: thackney on March 04, 2019, 08:25:40 pm
Facebook won't keep your two-factor phone number truly private
https://www.engadget.com/2019/03/04/facebook-2fa-phone-number/ (https://www.engadget.com/2019/03/04/facebook-2fa-phone-number/)

Rapacious consumer of personal data Facebook is once again receiving bad press, for being a rapacious consumer of personal data. The company is under fire for its refusal to allow users to opt out of being found by their phone number when those digits were only supplied for two-factor authentication. TechCrunch is drawing attention to the annoyance, pointing out that some folks are now learning about the bait'n'switch.

Twitter user Jeremy Burge pointed out, in a thread, that phone numbers could be searched, with "no way to disable" the feature. He added that, perhaps unsurprisingly, this data is also shared with WhatsApp and Instagram, which means your phone number becomes a unique ID for you. And it's impossible to disable the feature if you added your number -- only limit it to your immediate friend circle.

Facebook told TechCrunch that this is not a new situation, which is true, and we've known that the platform uses phone numbers for ad tracking since last September. The company uses that unique ID, since it's tied to you, and can use it to sell ads, much as it does with everything else it knows about you. It's a practice that columnist Violet Blue said "gives a middle finger to infosec" on this very website....
Title: Re: Facebook won't keep your two-factor phone number truly private
Post by: Sanguine on March 04, 2019, 08:41:10 pm
Do people put their phone numbers on FB? 
Title: Re: Facebook won't keep your two-factor phone number truly private
Post by: thackney on March 04, 2019, 09:20:32 pm
Quote from: Sanguine on March 04, 2019, 08:41:10 pm
Do people put their phone numbers on FB?

Not this people...
Title: Re: Facebook won't keep your two-factor phone number truly private
Post by: Sanguine on March 04, 2019, 10:07:57 pm
Smart man.
Title: Re: Facebook won't keep your two-factor phone number truly private
Post by: jmyrlefuller on March 04, 2019, 11:24:32 pm
Remember when there was this thing called the phone book, which published everybody's phone number without their explicit permission unless they explicitly asked to be unlisted?
Title: Re: Facebook won't keep your two-factor phone number truly private
Post by: Sanguine on March 04, 2019, 11:30:40 pm
Quote from: jmyrlefuller on March 04, 2019, 11:24:32 pm
Remember when there was this thing called the phone book, which published everybody's phone number without their explicit permission unless they explicitly asked to be unlisted?

I do, and it was simple and it worked.  Pretty much flawlessly.
Title: Re: Facebook won't keep your two-factor phone number truly private
Post by: bigheadfred on March 04, 2019, 11:31:30 pm
Quote from: Sanguine on March 04, 2019, 08:41:10 pm
Do people put their phone numbers on FB?

Every time I get a call from a telemarketer I post that number on FB as my own.
Title: Re: Facebook won't keep your two-factor phone number truly private
Post by: Sighlass on March 05, 2019, 12:08:51 am
Quote from: Sanguine on March 04, 2019, 08:41:10 pm
Do people put their phone numbers on FB? 

You try and get an account there without a phone number. Not possible anymore. Plus they want you to prove your number works yearly so they have the latest number to sell to spammers.
Title: Re: Facebook won't keep your two-factor phone number truly private
Post by: Fishrrman on March 05, 2019, 12:16:30 am
Sighlass wrote:
"You try and get an account there without a phone number. Not possible anymore."

Guess I won't be signin' up fo' facebook anytime soon!