There’s this old chinese saying that goes like that: If you want something to stay private, then don’t post it online. This is particularly true for Facebook users who have included their mobile phone number in their profile.
Also Read: Is Facebook Launching A Phone Call App?
A vulnerability was first reported last week by Digital Trends and it causes concerns to all users of the social network. According to the article, even if you have set your phone number to private and visible only to you, a malicious user can retrieve it and link it with your personal details. The flaw was discovered by Reza Moaiandin, the technical director at the Salt Agency.
Here’s how it works. As you may already know, Facebook search lets you find friends on the network by using their email address or their phone number. And while the latter may be set to private and visible only to you, it doesn’t mean that it’s excluded from the search results produced by the API.
If you are indeed looking for a friend, then seeing his or her profile link and picture on your search results may not be a problem. However, in the event of a malicious user, things change. Associating a number with a name, location and everything else that is publicly visible on a user’s profile may lead to spamming – to say the least.
Mitigating the issue is easy, though. From your account settings you may be able to change the Find Who Can Look Me Up option under How You Connect menu. Setting this option to Friends of Friends or just Friends can provide you with the level of protection you need.
If you like our stories, there is an easy way to stay updated:
Follow @wersm
According to the same sources, while Mr. Moaiandin has already reached out to Facebook to report the issue, the social network has not put any rigid mitigation process in action and it has rather set up “some controls to prevent hackers from gathering mass phone-number lists“, but those are not robust enough.
Image courtesy of Digital Trends.
You might also like
More from Other Platforms
YouTube Introduces Dedicated Pages For Hashtags
Youtube is rolling out dedicated landing pages for hashtags to all users worldwide, giving us a new way to sort …
Pinterest Launches New Dynamic Creative Ad Specialty
To save advertisers precious time, Pinterest has announced the launch of a new ad specialty: dynamic creative.
Nathan Apodaca Will Join Biden’s Inauguration Day Parade
TikTok star Nathan Apodaca – a.k.a. 420Doggface208 — will officially join Joe Biden's Inauguration Day festivities.
Google Maps Rolls Out New Street-Level Details In Four Cities
Google Maps announced it's rolling out street-level details - like crosswalks, sidewalks, and more, in four major global cities.
Snapchat Shuts Down Donald Trump’s Account Permanently
Snapchat has announced its decision to permanently ban President Trump's account.
Google Now Has A Guest Mode On Its Smart Speakers
The new Guest Mode on Google Smart Speakers limits access to your persona data like your calendar and won't save …
Netflix Sensation Bridgerton Could Soon Be The New TikTok Musical
After the success of the Ratatouille Musical, the current Netflix sensation Bridgerton could soon become the next TikTok Musical.
Spanish Twitch Streamer Breaks Concurrent Viewership Record
Spanish Twitch streamer TheGrefg has broken the concurrent viewership record on Twitch with close to 2.5 million concurrent live views.
WhatsApp Now Forces You To Share Your Information With Facebook
As part of a recent privacy policy update, WhatsApp is now asking users to share information with other Facebook companies …