NEW YORK — On the same day Facebook bought ads in U.S. and British newspapers to apologize for the Cambridge Analytica scandal, the social media site faced new questions about collecting phone numbers and text messages from Android devices.
The website ars technica reported that users who checked data collected by Facebook found that it had two or more years of contact names, telephone numbers, call lengths and text messages.
Facebook says the information is uploaded to secure servers and comes only from users who opt-in to allow it. Spokeswomen say the data is not shared with friends or any outside apps. They say the data is used “to improve people’s experience across Facebook” by helping to connect with others.
Facebook says on its website that it never sells the data and does not collect content of text messages or calls. But spokeswomen did not answer a question about why exactly it needs phone call and text message information.
Facebook says the data was used only from Android phones.
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