Facebook says it is "embarrassed" after a system bug accidentally gives out contact information for millions of its users.
Six million Facebook users have had their contact information
inadvertently exposed because of a bug in the site.
The social media giant admitted that each piece of information - such as an
email address or phone number - had been given out "once or twice"
and said it was "upset and embarrassed" by the mistake.
Facebook said the bug was connected to a technical mix-up between its
Download Your Information (DYI) tool, which lets users get an archive of their
timeline activity, and the feature which recommends who to add as a friend.
People using the tool were also unexpectedly getting extra contact
information for friends of friends, or extra contact information for their
existing Facebook friends.
The site tried to reassure users in a blog post and said there was no evidence yet that
the bug had been maliciously exploited.
"For almost all of the email addresses or telephone numbers impacted, each
individual email address or telephone number was only included in a download
once or twice," said the blog.
"This means, in almost all cases, an email address or telephone number
was only exposed to one person.
"Additionally, no other types of personal or financial information were
included and only people on Facebook - not developers or advertisers - have
access to the DYI tool."
The problem has now been fixed but the company said it had already notified
privacy regulators in the US, Canada and Europe, and was in the process of
notifying affected users.
Source: SKYNEWS, UK
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