Facebook Alerts 14 Million Users About Privacy Bug
Facebook is dealing with yet another privacy issue — this time, in the form of a bug that suggested users' posts to be public even if their security preferences were set to friends-only.
As noted by Refinery29, the bug reportedly affected up to 14 million people, and the social media platform has since taken steps to alert people to the issue. If you're one of the people who might have been impacted by the bug, you'll likely receive this message from the Facebook app when you check your notifications: "We recently discovered a technical error between May 18 and 27 that automatically suggested a public audience when you were creating posts." You'll then be able to see the status updates in question, and review the privacy settings for each.
In a blog post on June 7, Facebook's Chief Privacy Officer, Erin Egan, explained that the bug arose as the platform was developing a new way to share "featured" items on a profile page. "Since these featured items are public, the suggested audience for all new posts – not just these items – was set to public," Egan wrote, noting that the problem has since been fixed. Facebook also clarified on Twitter that "No private posts were changed to be public. The bug made the suggested audience 'public' as opposed to the previous audience setting. Nothing was changed after posted."
This latest bug comes on the heels of another big privacy issue for Facebook: the Cambridge Analytica Scandal, which raised questions about improper collection and usage of people's data. In her recent post, Egan concluded by writing: "We've heard loud and clear that we need to be more transparent about how we build our products and how those products use your data – including when things go wrong. And that is what we are doing here."
Regardless of whether or not you posted on Facebook between the days of May 18 and 27, it's always a good idea to review your privacy and security settings. To double check your preferences, click "Privacy Shortcuts" within the app. There, you'll be able to access a Privacy Checkup, as well as dictate who can see your posts, send you friend requests, and more. It never hurts to pop over to your privacy settings from time to time, in order to remain informed about the content you're sharing.
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