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Facebook Is Changing the Way It Stores Call, Text History

Posted by BeauHD on from the cause-and-effect dept.

Facebook issued a blog post today detailing the changes it has made to how it manages users' data. Among the new changes is a tweak to how Facebook collects and stores call and text history. Engadget reports: For those using Messenger or Facebook Lite on Android, an opt-in feature compiles users' call and text history, which the company says is used to help it surface the contacts you talk to most frequently. In its blog post today, Facebook said that it has reviewed the feature and can confirm that it doesn't actually collect the content of any messages. Additionally, going forward, it will delete logs older than a year and only the data required for the feature's functionality will be collected, meaning no extra data, such as call times, will be stored. The collection of such data became an issue last month, when software developer Dylan McKay discovered the logs after downloading a copy of his account data. Facebook initially said that it was an opt-in feature. It also said that the call and text history data were never sold. You can see how to turn off this feature here for Messenger and here for Facebook Lite.

4 of 55 comments (clear)

  1. Re:If Zuckie says so ... by Rosco+P.+Coltrane · · Score: 3, Insightful

    More importantly, it's very likely that even if you deny Facebook the right to do something it wants to do, it'll do it anyway. There's no way to tell, why wouldn't they?

    The permissions thing is just a dog-and-pony show...

    --
    "A door is what a dog is perpetually on the wrong side of" - Ogden Nash
  2. Re:If Zuckie says so ... by Rosco+P.+Coltrane · · Score: 3, Insightful

    The best option is a class action lawsuit to force them to delete and not retain your info.

    Okay. Say they get sued and they lose the class action (fat chance). How can you tell they'll actually delete the data?

    Facebook's infrastructure is vast. Technically, it'd take experts months to ensure they actually comply with the judge's order - and that's assuming FB doesn't actively try to deceive them. What would most likely happen is, FB would simply promise to comply in writing, and we all know what FB's promises are worth...

    --
    "A door is what a dog is perpetually on the wrong side of" - Ogden Nash
  3. Re:i dont care what facebook says or does by novakyu · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Are you sure you have done a thorough enough job? Have you looked at any particular file hosted on Facebook? Do they all use *.facebook.com? If you have realized Facebook owns and uses other domains, are you sure you blocked them all?

  4. If they were serious... by bradley13 · · Score: 4, Insightful

    If Facebook were serious, they would stop storing this data at all. Data not collected cannot be compromised.

    Of course, that goes against their business plan. So, instead, they make a lot of noise about a couple of purely cosmetic changes, and go on selling all your data to anyone who wants it.

    Cambridge Analytics? That wasn't an accident or an oversight. That was business as usual, Facebook making money. They are only annoyed that they got caught.

    --
    Enjoy life! This is not a dress rehearsal.