It was recently discovered that Facebook has been keeping tabs on all your Android SMS and phone usage history for years. The company recently announced that it would suspend the activity of third-party data brokers from the websites in order to reduce data collection for advertising parties. However, this announcement only came out after the company was called out for storing information from personal interactions. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Read More: <\/strong>How to Analyze Junk Files on Your Smartphone?<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n A good way to protect yourself from these situations is with dfndr performance’s<\/a><\/strong> Facebook Messenger cleaner feature<\/em>, which allows you to delete old conversations and files. Here\u2019s what you should know about Facebook\u2019s recent debacle<\/a> and the information they gathered while you weren\u2019t paying attention.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Your Data Has Been Known for Years Facebook Claims \u201cWe Keep You Connected\u201d Because these permissions weren\u2019t as strict, the Facebook app removed restrictions at the time of installation that normally protects phone logs and SMS data. Google eventually made changes to ensure that users are notified of what type of information they\u2019re willing to share with Facebook and what data they\u2019d like to keep to themselves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Network Found a Way Around This Privacy
\n<\/strong>New Zealand-based programmer Dylan McKay was among the first<\/a> to discover that Facebook was all up in his business. He sent out a tweet that revealed a downloaded ZIP file from the social media site, containing complete logs of his outgoing calls, incoming calls, and SMS. Other users followed suit by reporting similar discoveries that raised hard questions on how much privacy you really have on Facebook.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n<\/strong>A spokesperson for Facebook responded to McKay\u2019s claims by saying that the company has been uploading the contact data of its users in order to make it easier for people to remain connected, much like other social media sites. This was especially true with old Android phones, which had looser permissions on what information Facebook could attain from your digital interactions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n<\/strong>Even after Google changed the privacy permission settings<\/a>, independent developers found a workaround and still collected SMS and phone data until the launch of Google 4.0 on the Android API last October. You can check your call and SMS logs on the Facebook app by clicking on Settings>Download. To grab a copy, go to Facebook data>Start My Archive. You can turn on the Facebook continuous upload setting on the Messenger app if you\u2019d like to protect your privacy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n