Cybersecurity Blog

Facebook Android app logging calls and texts – 04/11/18

 

On the heels of an announcement that Facebook allowed Cambridge Analytica to harvest data from users to influence the US elections, users of the Android Facebook app have found that their calls and texts are being logged.  It’s been a tough few weeks for Facebook users concerned about their privacy.

Why on earth would Facebook need to log calls? Apparently to improve our experience of using their products. As alarming as all this seems, Facebook is only doing what their users have allowed them to do. In our desire to connect we have thrown caution to the wind and have accepted any conditions of use that app developers have thrown at us. If this has taught us anything, it has taught us to be more cautious with clicking Allow when an app is asking for permission to access our contacts, our microphones, our photos and anything else they might want to mess with.

The only way things are going to improve is if we users start choosing privacy over convenience and stop downloading intrusive apps. This is a lesson that Facebook is learning the hard way, with users dumping the platform at record speeds. The question is, is anyone else paying attention?

 

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