Facebook "Unintentionally" Uploaded 1.5 Million Email Contacts

Reminder: your personal data is not safe with Facebook.

Yet Another Glitch

Is your data safe with Facebook?

After getting caught storing “hundreds of millions” of account passwords in plain text last month — a flabbergasting breach of good data security practices — Facebook has been busted in another security snafu, admitting yesterday that it "unintentionally uploaded" email contacts of some 1.5 million new users since May 2016, Business Insider reports.

The extent of the damage caused by the glitch is still unclear, but Facebook says it's fixed the problem.

"These contacts were not shared with anyone and we are deleting them," a spokesperson told Reuters. 

A Horrible Idea

Business Insider first discovered the glitch, which caused Facebook to collect email contacts of newly signed-up users without their consent. Security researcher e-sushi first uncovered the glitch.

https://twitter.com/originalesushi/status/1112496649891430401

No Consent

It's a damning revelation — and Facebook fell short, as usual, of a particularly convincing mea culpa.

"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," a statement from Facebook read, as quoted by Business Insider.

READ MORE: Facebook says it 'unintentionally uploaded' 1.5 million people's email contacts without their consent [Business Insider]

More on Facebook leaks: Facebook Stored “Hundreds of Millions” of Passwords as Plain Text