Beautiful Virgin Islands

Monday, Sep 01, 2025

Facebook will stop using phone numbers for friend suggestions

Facebook will stop using phone numbers for friend suggestions

The move is an effort to improve privacy, following the social media giant's record settlement with the FTC.
Facebook will stop the practice of using phone numbers meant for two-factor authentication to suggest friends you may know. The move is part of the company's efforts to clean up its privacy practices. Reuters reported the change on Thursday, which Facebook confirmed. Earlier this year, it was revealed that Facebook was using two-factor authentication data like phone numbers and email addresses for targeted advertising, too.

Facebook stopped using phone numbers for advertising as of June and will now stop using the information to suggest people you may know, Reuters said. According to the report, it's part of Facebook's privacy settlement with the Federal Trade Commission, which cost the social media giant a record $5 billion.

"Based on feedback from the privacy and security communities, we have started updating our two-factor authentication feature so that phone numbers people add here won't be used to suggest friends," a spokesperson told CNET in a statement.

It's part of a larger shift Facebook has made since it came to light in 2018 that the Cambridge Analytica political consultancy improperly accessed the information of 87 million Facebook users. In addition to its settlement with the FTC, which dealt with privacy problems beyond the Cambridge Analytica scandal, Facebook has had to comply with new privacy laws around the globe. That includes the General Data Protection Regulation in the European Union, and the California Consumer Privacy Act, a comprehensive privacy law in California that comes into effect Jan. 1, 2020.

The overhaul of the use of personal two-factor authentication data will start in Pakistan, Ecuador, Libya, Ethiopia and Cambodia this week, Reuters reported, before being expanded globally in 2020.

Earlier Thursday, it was also revealed that over 267 million Facebook user IDs, phone numbers and names were exposed online. Security researcher Bob Diachenko discovered the user data on Dec. 14. The personal information was available in a database that anyone with the right web address could access.
Newsletter

Related Articles

Beautiful Virgin Islands
0:00
0:00
Close
Chinese and Indian Leaders Pursue Amity Amid Global Shifts
European Union Plans for Ukraine Deployment
ECB Warns Against Inflation Complacency
Concerns Over North Cyprus Casino Development
Shipping Companies Look Beyond Chinese Finance
Rural Exodus Fueling European Wildfires
China Hosts Major Security Meeting
Chinese Police Successfully Recover Family's Savings from Livestream Purchases
Germany Marks a Decade Since Migrant Wave with Divisions, Success Stories, and Political Shifts
Liverpool Defeat Arsenal 1–0 with Szoboszlai Free-Kick to Stay Top of Premier League
Prince Harry and King Charles to Meet in First Reunion After 20 Months
Chinese Stock Market Rally Fueled by Domestic Investors
Israeli Airstrike in Yemen Kills Houthi Prime Minister
Ukrainian Nationalist Politician Andriy Parubiy Assassinated in Lviv
Corporate America Cuts Middle Management as Bosses Take On Triple the Workload
Parents Sue OpenAI After Teen’s Death, Alleging ChatGPT Encouraged Suicide
Amazon Faces Lawsuit Over 'Buy' Label on Digital Streaming Content
Federal Reserve Independence Questioned Amid Trump’s Push to Reshape Central Bank
British Politics Faces Tumultuous Autumn After Summer of Rebellions and Rising Farage Momentum
US Appeals Court Rules Against Most Trump-Era Tariffs
UK Sought Broad Access to Apple Users’ Data, Court Filing Reveals
UK Bank Shares Dive Over Potential Tax on Sector
Germany’s Auto Industry Sheds 51,500 Jobs in First Half of 2025 Amid Deepening Crisis
Bruce Willis Relocated Due to Advanced Dementia
French and Korean Nuclear Majors Clash As EU Launches Foreign Subsidy Probe
EU Stands Firm on Digital Rules as Trump Warns of Retaliation
Getting Ready for the 3rd Time in Its History, Germany Approves Voluntary Military Service for Teenagers
Argentine President Javier Milei Evacuated After Stones Thrown During Campaign Event
Denmark Confronts U.S. Diplomat Over Covert Trump-Linked Influence in Greenland
Starmer Should Back Away from ECHR, Says Jack Straw
Trump Demands RICO Charges Against George Soros and Son for Funding Violent Protests
Taylor Swift Announces Engagement to NFL Star Travis Kelce
France May Need IMF Bailout, Warns Finance Minister
Chinese AI Chipmaker Cambricon Posts Record Profit as Beijing Pushes Pivot from Nvidia
After the Shock of Defeat, Iranians Yearn for Change
Ukraine Finally Allows Young Men Aged Eighteen to Twenty-Two to Leave the Country
The Porn Remains, Privacy Disappears: How Britain Broke the Internet in Ten Days
YouTube Altered Content by Artificial Intelligence – Without Permission
Welcome to The Definition of Insanity: Germany Edition
Just a reminder, this is Michael Jackson's daughter, Paris.
Spotify’s Strange Move: The Feature Nobody Asked For – Returns
Manhunt in Australia: Armed Anti-Government Suspect Kills Police Officers Sent to Arrest Him
China Launches World’s Most Powerful Neutrino Detector
How Beijing-Linked Networks Shape Elections in New York City
Ukrainian Refugee Iryna Zarutska Fled War To US, Stabbed To Death
Elon Musk Sues Apple and OpenAI Over Alleged App Store Monopoly
2 Australian Police Shot Dead In Encounter In Rural Victoria State
Vietnam Evacuates Hundreds of Thousands as Typhoon Kajiki Strikes; China’s Sanya Shuts Down
UK Government Delays Decision on China’s Proposed London Embassy Amid Concerns Over Redacted Plans
A 150-Year Tradition to Be Abolished? Uproar Over the Popular Central Park Attraction
×