Category: Facebook
Millions of Facebook user phone numbers exposed
Facebook has confirmed that hundreds of millions of user phone numbers were left in an unprotected server, which reportedly included several million British details. According to TechCrunch, 18 million UK phone numbers were among 419 million records left in an open online server that was not secured with a password. Facebook has confirmed the report,…
Facebook brings facial recognition setting to all users
Facebook is making its facial recognition setting available to all users but is keeping the function turned off by default amid ongoing unease about the technology. The social network’s face recognition system creates a “template” of a user’s face based on other images they are tagged in, which means it can inform people if someone…
Facebook ‘considering hiding like counts’
Facebook is reportedly considering a trial that would hide the number of likes posts receive, following a similar test already being carried out on Instagram. Earlier this year, Instagram begun hiding likes and video views as part of a trial aimed at removing “the pressure” and shifting the focus to “sharing the things” its users…
Facebook Pop-Up Cafés to offer free privacy checks
Facebook is launching its first pop-up cafés aimed at encouraging users to personalise their privacy settings. The firm is opening pop-ups in London and Manchester, which will offer a free drink to visitors who choose to be guided through a privacy check-up on the site, with further branches to open in Brighton, Edinburgh and Cardiff…
Facebook gives users control over data from other online activities
Facebook is to allow users to clear data which has been linked to their account based on their activity on other websites. The social network said it will begin offering users the chance to see and remove “Off-Facebook Activity” information about themselves that has been sent to the social network by other apps and sites…
Facebook removes China-linked accounts attacking Hong Kong protesters
Facebook has removed a number of accounts which posted images depicting protesters in Hong Kong as terrorists and cockroaches. The social network said it removed the small number of accounts, which had around 15,500 followers, after they were found to be involved in “co-ordinated inauthentic behaviour”. Facebook said it found the accounts were linked to…
Tories boost Facebook spending amid Boris Johnson Brexit push
The Conservative Party has ramped up its spending on Facebook advertising as new Prime Minister Boris Johnson seeks to build support for his Brexit plans. Data from the social media giant shows the Tories spent £86,020 on targeted advertising on Facebook in the 30 days to August 17- more than they spent over the previous…
Facebook cafes to encourage users to check privacy settings
Facebook is to open a number of pop-up cafes around the UK as part of a scheme to encourage social network users to run privacy check-ups. The social media firm will run the cafes in existing shops in London, Manchester, Brighton, Edinburgh and Cardiff where it will encourage users to examine their privacy settings in…
US senators demand answers over Facebook Messenger Kids app flaw
US senators have written to Facebook asking for more details about a flaw in its Messenger Kids app which was confirmed by the social network last month. The app, launched in 2017, is aimed at under-13s and is meant to be a safe space for them to chat to friends and family, controlled from a…
Facebook ‘fails to stop fake review sales’
Facebook has been accused of failing to stop the sale of fake reviews through its website more than a month after being urged to act on the issue by the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA). Consumer group Which? claimed its own investigation had found a number of groups on the social network that were still…
