Facebookers Furious as Social Network Publishes Phone Numbers

A Facebook page was created in protest of the Phonebook feature.

Image: Facebook

Once solely concerned with social-networking supremacy, Facebook’s push to lead the mobile communication market has now grabbed users’ attention and national headlines twice in as many days. First, the company unveiled its new mobile messenger app, which received rave reviews from early adopters on Wednesday.

Today, however, attention has turned to Facebook’s phone-book-syncing protocol—and the responses are, to put it mildly, anything but rave.

The social network finds itself in the midst of yet another privacy scandal after reports went viral today that phone numbers in users’ mobile phones have been published and may be visible to others on Facebook. Users are complaining that the company has managed to pluck the full names and phone numbers of contacts who don't even have a Facebook account—individuals who likely have never provided Facebook with any contact information.

The following message has flooded the network as angry users copied and pasted the warning onto their profiles and those of their friends:

“All the phone numbers in your phone are now published on Facebook! Go to the top right of the screen, click on Account, then click on Edit Friends, go left on the screen and click on Contacts. Then go to the right-hand side and click on “visit page” to remove this display option. Please repost this on your Status, so your friends can remove their numbers and thus prevent abuse if they do not want them published.”

The company has responded to concerns on its fan page, dismissing “rumors” that the contacts are visible to users and adding that the feature has long existed on the site. “The phone numbers listed there were either added by your friends themselves and made visible to you, or you have previously synced your phone contacts with Facebook.”

In the comments section below the company’s post, users didn’t appear reassured. Comments ranged from “Keep numbers personal” and “Get your act together” to “Soooo glad I have Google+.” Several users wrote that they did not approve the phone sync and yet still found the numbers posted in their contacts list.

If you’re curious about the status of your own phonebook, log in to Facebook and follow the steps in the warning message. Let us know what you find in the comments below, and share your thoughts on the company’s privacy policies.

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