Facebook has confronted that its Facebook and Messenger app collect details on the calls a user makes, and SMS that is sent through a phone. Although the company says that it does this after seeking explicit confirmation from users, but here is why you should stop Facebook from doing this.
ALSO READ: Privacy Concerned? Here Is How To Opt Out Of Facebook’s Data Sharing Platform
Why You Should Stop Facebook
Facebook collects details of every call you make and every SMS you send and then sends these details to Facebook servers where they are stored. Well, permitting an app to access your data could be disastrous. Moreover, Facebook doesn’t really have a good reason for this practice.
The company says that it wants this data to improve user experience, but the argument is very thin. It seems that Facebook is building a 360-degree of a user profile or maybe, it wants to know who you talk to more frequently to understand your friendship network at a more profound level. Scary? Yes.
ALSO READ: How To Prevent Facebook From Selling Your Browsing Data!
Apple Users Not To Worry
The same call record and SMS data collection have not yet been discovered on iOS devices. While Apple does allow some specialist apps to access this data in limited ways like blocking spam calls or texts, but other apps have been stalled from using user details. Which apparently means that Facebook’s iOS app is not able to capture this data on an iPhone. So, Apple users are unaffected.
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Facebook Statement
In a statement, Facebook said;
“Call and text history logging is part of an opt-in feature for people using Messenger or Facebook Lite on Android. This helps you find and stay connected with the people you care about and provides you with a better experience on Facebook. Contact importers are fairly common among social apps and services as a way to more easily find the people you want to connect with.”
Fair enough. But this statement certainly avoids why Facebook needs to record call and SMS details. Sure, it needs contact details to create the friendship links. But what is the point of collecting SMSes? better ads, is that it? Well, we still seek a perfect answer for it.
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How To Stop Facebook Recording Call And SMS Details
The first thing to avoid is giving permission to Facebook to collect details of your calls, contact details and SMS. Well, here is how;
On Facebook Messenger: Go to settings > People > Turn off Contact Sync. To delete previously uploaded contacts, go to this page, log into your account and delete contacts.
On Facebook Lite: Go to Settings > Turn off Continuous Contacts Upload. Also turn off Sync Your Call and Text History.
Hope this piece of information helps you in securing your personal data. Did we miss anything? Any queries? do let us know in the comment section.
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