After last week’s Facebook security breach which leaked contact information for approximately six million users, many are outraged. The leaking of confidential data seems to be just a small part of this story. What has people furious is Facebook’s collection of data that you didn’t even know they had – your “shadow profile.”
What’s a shadow profile anyway?
By now, you probably know—and have accepted—that Facebook tracks certain data about you. But the social networking giant may also have information that you’ve never shared with it before like your phone number and additional email addresses for example. This information is now included in your shadow profile.
Through Facebook features such as “Find Friends,” which grants access to address books, the network sifts through contacts listed in your friend’s phone to make it easy to find people on Facebook. When a friend does this, Facebook saves information about you including your phone number and email address. Continue reading “Facebook Leaks Shadow Profiles”