Facebook faces backlash over claims users’ ‘security’ phone numbers were utilised in targeted advertising
- Numbers input to the so-called two-factor authentication system were then said to be used for other purposes
Facebook has been accused of abusing a security feature and weakening user privacy after it was found using phone numbers handed over for account safety for other purposes.
The company faces criticism that it will be harder to convince users to take other security measures it claims are necessary if they view this as an abuse of trust.
Since 2011, Facebook has asked users for their phone numbers to enable “two-factor authentication”, which is said to be a security feature that sends a text message whenever a login is attempted.
The social network even required the feature to be used by moderators of large Facebook pages, telling them they had to supply a phone number to prevent the page from being stolen by hackers.
But in the years after the social network first enabled two-factor authentication, Facebook used the phone numbers for other purposes.
