How to Keep Your Phone Number Private on Facebook
Facebook has done it again!
What is this time, you ask? Well, Facebook can have your phone number and they allow anyone in the world to find your account! Quickly, change your settings now!
But why did this happen? And more importantly, how did they get your information at all? Here are all the answers to your questions (and why tackling your security concerns isn’t easy).
How did they get my phone number?
Have you ever secured your Facebook account with two-factor authentication? Everything is very simple. Facebook allows you to “link” your phone so that you can receive a text message to verify your account every time you sign in. It turns out that even if you hide your phone number in your profile, anyone can find you using this information.
Writer Jeremy Burge raised this issue on Twitter for the first time, prompting a storm of similar complaints from users. “I can not keep a secret phone number that I provided only for the safety of Facebook», – he wrote in Twitter security expert and writer Zeynep Tufekchi. “No notification of this major, risky change.”
The default settings on Facebook are set up so that anyone can find you using your phone number, so you are probably already at risk. And you can’t completely opt out, as the best privacy settings you can choose from are still open to friends.
Well, Facebook isn’t going to use my phone number for evil purposes, right?
Wrong! As noted by Gizmodo , last year Facebook used your two-factor authentication phone number to start annoying you with targeted ads (even though it was being used “for security purposes.” Nothing prevents them from using your number for other reasons, such as communication with strangers. to find you without your consent. Why, Facebook, why?
What can I do about it?
Let’s be honest – not very much. Facebook can still find your phone number even if you don’t provide it (yes). How? According to Burge , Facebook shares its information with everyone, including Instagram and WhatsApp (they both own). If any friend logs in using these accounts and accepts access to their contacts, it is possible that they can still find you.
As Burge also noted in the screenshot , he never provided his Instagram number, but was asked to confirm it a few days after he provided it to Facebook via two-way authentication.
But here’s what you can do if you want to protect yourself as much as possible: Under Settings , search for Privacy, and you’ll find information on how people can find you and contact you. In the “Who can find you at the phone number you specified” section, select “Friends”. You can also set up two-factor authentication by email (we recommend a recorder) by phone number.
If you’ve never had a Facebook account and didn’t give a friend’s phone number, you’re probably still vulnerable (we know it’s grim), but at least it might stop old high school acquaintances from calling you.