By akademiotoelektronik, 11/02/2023

Facebook: the phone phone numbers are private

Facebook said this Wednesday not to disclose the telephone numbers of social network members.The numbers appear through synchronization between the mobile application and the telephone directory.It is possible to deactivate this synchronization and delete recorded numbers.

The rumor spread on Facebook as a trail of powder.The American social network would display user telephone numbers without their consent, allowing third parties to consult them without difficulty.The community site, which was somewhat caught in the face of this agitation, however assured Wednesday that the telephone numbers are not accessible by other members.

"Rumors saying that your telephone contacts are visible to all are false.Our list of contacts, formerly called directory, existed for a long period.The telephone numbers listed here have been added by your friends themselves and made visible to you or have been synchronized previously with the Facebook mobile application "explains the American company in a message.

"As with your phone, only you can see these numbers" is added.In other words, not only the functionality has existed for a few years but in addition it is the user who chooses to synchronize his telephone directory with the Facebook application.The social network only affects these numbers on the page in question.To be at the heart of the discussions?

One of these messages, published on our forums, indicates this: "Important attention!Your friends' phone numbers are now on Facebook![…] All phone numbers are published (including those in your telephone directory !!).You too, share this status, that your friends can modify their parameters and prevent abuses ".What ensure the dissemination of the alert.

It is possible to deactivate this feature. Pour cela, l’utilisateur doit se rendre en haut à droite du réseau social et cliquer sur Compte => Gérer la liste d’amis.On the left of the page, you will have to select Contacts to display the list of phone numbers.From there, it is possible to manually delete contact (the cross or delete the whole directory at once).

To do this, follow the link published to the right of the Contacts page.There, the social network explains that “your imported contacts appear on your page of imported invitations and contacts and synchronized contacts on mobile in your Facebook telephone directory.Contacts can be used to improve the quality of friends' suggestions for yourself and your friends ".

According to Facebook, the presence of phone numbers improves the suggestion of friends.The system can find a potential contact based on a number present in the directory.Of course, the potential contact must have informed its number on its Facebook page for its part.Or that he synchronized his telephone repertoire in which you appear.

In order for the deletion of contacts to be effective, Facebook recalls that it is first necessary to stop synchronization between the mobile and the social network.But this story again poses the place of user consent in this process.In many cases, it turned out that Facebook has a clear inclination to the opt out, that is to say that it is up to the user to be aware of the settings and it is himto unsubscribe.

Opt in, on the other hand, requires receiving user consent first before planning any collection.In other words, the Internet user must tie the functionality himself so that it activates.