Facebook ‘unintentionally uploaded’ email contacts from 1.5M users

From cnet.com

Facebook “unintentionally” harvested the email contacts of about 1.5 million of its users during the past three years.

The activity came to light when a security researcher noticed that Facebook was asking users to enter their email passwords to verify their identities when signing up for an account, according to Business Insider, which previously reported on the practice. Those who did enter their passwords then saw a pop-up message that said it was “importing” their contacts — without first asking permission, BI reported.

A Facebook spokesperson confirmed that 1.5 million people’s contacts were collected in this manner since May 2016 to help build Facebook’s web of social connections and recommend other users to add as friends.

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