Facebook Doesn’t Need Your Real Phone Number
It’s time to stop sharing your real phone number on the Internet. If you can avoid this, do not tie your phone number to different online accounts, because if (or when) these services get hacked – as it just happened with Facebook and, almost, TikTok – your number will hang in the open air for whom to contact. Worse, it is likely to be linked to other information about you, which could lead to spam and annoying phishing attempts.
This gives you two options to consider. First, if you remove your phone number from your online accounts, you will have to opt out of using less secure (but better than nothing) text authentication for 2FA. This is actually fine, but you will need to install an app like Authy or Google Authenticator to meet your two-factor authentication needs in the future. They are very easy to set up and you should already be using them for any service that supports them. Full stop.
If you are unable to remove your phone number from the service – because it requires you to provide a phone number in order to create an account or verify your account – do your best not to give away your real phone number. For most people, this means creating a free Google Voice number, forwarding its messages to your real phone number, and sending a Google Voice number whenever you need to provide it to access an account or service.
While this will not stop the flow of spam from reaching you if or when this phone number is leaked, Google includes many built-in anti-spam tools. And you can always change your Google Voice number if you find yourself stranded as a result of a future leak, or opt out of using Google Voice as a forwarding service altogether and just use it as a place where calls you don’t want to receive can go. to death.
As for Facebook …
Since most people using Facebook have likely linked their number to their accounts – simply because or as a result of Facebook insisting that they do so – it is recommended that you be highly suspicious of any unexpected text messages or phone calls you you get. Even if they call you by name or think they have information about you that would usually suggest their legitimacy, stay alert.
While I bet you won’t receive more spam than you usually do, which you already receive via SMS and phone calls, it never hurts to be extra careful when one of these major data breaches occurs. Until then, remove your phone number from Facebook by going to your mobile settings. Then set up 2FA with whichever application you choose and repeat the process for the other major online services that you provided your numbers to.