Facebook 'unintentionally uploaded' emails of 1.5 million users

The revelation came to light after a security researcher noticed that "Facebook was asking some users to enter their email passwords when they signed up for new accounts to verify their identities".
Facebook 'unintentionally uploaded' emails of 1.5 million users
Facebook 'unintentionally uploaded' emails of 1.5 million users
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In a latest privacy goof up, Facebook "unintentionally" uploaded the emails of nearly 1.5 million of its users during the past three years.

A Facebook spokesperson admitted on late Wednesday that emails of 1.5 million people were harvested since May 2016 to help build Facebook's web of social connections and recommend other users to add as friends.

First reported by Business Insider, the revelation came to light after a security researcher noticed that "Facebook was asking some users to enter their email passwords when they signed up for new accounts to verify their identities".

"Last month we stopped offering email password verification as an option for people verifying their account when signing up for Facebook for the first time," the Facebook spokesperson was quoted as saying.

"We've fixed the underlying issue and are notifying people whose contacts were imported," Facebook said.

The social network said the contacts weren't shared with anyone and are being deleted, reports CNET.

"People can also review and manage the contacts they share with Facebook in their settings," said the company.

This also comes after NBC News reported on Tuesday citing leaked documents that Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg and Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg discussed plans to sell access to users' data to fight rivals.

"Zuckerberg oversaw plans to consolidate the social network's power and control competitors by treating its users' data as a bargaining chip, while publicly proclaiming to be protecting that data," the report said after scanning through about 4,000 pages of leaked company documents.

The report further claimed that in some cases, Facebook would reward favoured companies by giving them access to the data of its users. In other cases, it would deny user-data access to rival companies or apps.

Facebook is facing the heat over several data scandals, including the massive Cambridge Analytica scandal where personal information of up to 87 million users was leaked.

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