---
title: "Facebook “Unintentionally” Uploaded 1.5 Million Email Contacts"
description: "## Yet Another Glitch"
date: "2019-04-18"
modified: "2019-04-18"
authors:
  - name: "Victor Tangermann"
    job_title: "Senior Editor"
    link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor"
url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/facebook-upload-one-million-email-contacts"
categories:
  - "Future Society"
tags:
  - "data leak"
  - "data privacy"
  - "facebook"
  - "the digest"
---

# Facebook “Unintentionally” Uploaded 1.5 Million Email Contacts

![Facebook admitted yesterday that it "unintentionally uploaded" email contacts of some 1.5 million new users since May 2016.](<https://futurism.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/facebook-upload-one-million-email-contacts.png>)
*\<em\>Image: Tag Hartman-Simkins\</em\>*

## Yet Another Glitch

Is your data safe with Facebook?

After [getting caught](<https://futurism.com/the-byte/facebook-millions-password-plain-text>) 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](<https://www.businessinsider.com/facebook-uploaded-1-5-million-users-email-contacts-without-permission-2019-4>).

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 ](<https://www.reuters.com/article/us-facebook-privacy/facebook-says-it-uploaded-email-contacts-of-up-to-15-million-users-idUSKCN1RU06R>)*[Reuters](<https://www.reuters.com/article/us-facebook-privacy/facebook-says-it-uploaded-email-contacts-of-up-to-15-million-users-idUSKCN1RU06R>).*

## 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](<https://twitter.com/originalesushi>) 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](<https://www.businessinsider.com/facebook-uploaded-1-5-million-users-email-contacts-without-permission-2019-4>) \[*Business Insider*\]

**More on Facebook leaks:** *[Facebook Stored “Hundreds of Millions” of Passwords as Plain Text](<https://futurism.com/the-byte/facebook-millions-password-plain-text>)*

## Author
I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida.

### Author social links  
[Bluesky](<https://bsky.app/profile/vtanger.bsky.social>)