Alongside the myriad other scandals the social network is currently embroiled in, it recently emerged this week that the company is using its users' need for security as a means of invading their privacy.
The company yesterday issued a statement confirming that phone numbers provided by users to Facebook for the purpose of securing their account via two-factor authentication were, in turn, being used by Facebook to serve up ads.
Two-factor authentication, if you're not familiar, is a security measure that aims to secure your account by adding a second step to the login process in addition to requiring a password. This is usually done by asking you to insert a code sent to your phone.
The statement from the Facebook spokesperson reads,
"We use the information people provide to offer a better, more personalized experience on Facebook, including ads. We are clear about how we use the information we collect, including the contact information that people upload or add to their own accounts. You can manage and delete the contact information you’ve uploaded at any time.”
While it is, of course, apparent to anyone familiar with how Facebook operates that the company provides its services to users for free in exchange for the ability to use their data to target them with ads, it is still a breach of trust when the company uses information provided for the sake of security to invade users' privacy. That all of this is done without explicitly communicating it to the user is also quite the blow to already dubious Facebook's reputation.
Source: TechCrunch
Tell us what you think about Facebook's practices by commenting below, and by chiming in on the latest community poll on our home page about trading your personal details for free content.
63 Comments - Add comment