Facebook Receives Criticism Over Phone Number "Look-Up"

[engine]

Facebook is receiving criticism for its use of phone numbers submitted by users for two-factor authentication.
Now, it seems, you can't opt-out.

It also seems that Facebook has allowed people to search for phone numbers, even if its hidden in a profile. It's still hidden, but it's a bit pointless if you

It goes on: If another person allows Facebook to look up other contacts, and your contacts has your number, it'll be possible to look it up. This is not new, but only adds to the search issues as many people may not even be aware of this.

Apparently, if you haven't already done it, check out your settings as the default visibility is "everyone." Switch it to "friends"

[techcrunch.com...]

I feel this'll very soon fall foul of the E.U.'s GDPR

[Marshall]

Facebook - Don't trust them. Never will.

[engine]

Yes, I think the more of this creepy behaviour it carries out the more it'll do for them.

[NickMNS]

"Golf-Clap" Bravo FB.
Actions like this on the part of FaceBook is essentially making it impossible for smaller sites to survive and/thrive. User are coerced into providing information that is then abused and used to generate profits. But users fundamentally don't trust FB and thus are even less likely to trust the smaller websites. How willing do you think a user will be to provide a phone number for text-notification after this?

[lucy24]

It's still hidden, but it's a bit pointless if you

If I ...?

Worse yet: Is there anything stopping you from giving someone else's number--a rival or someone you dislike or simply a made-up string of digits? In the field of Bad Ideas, this is a well-established practice.

[not2easy]

The phone number requirement for 2 factor authentication needs to be authenticated. Using a number you don't control would prevent your access to FB.

[tangor]

When the push for phone numbers started I backed off ... I don't use my phone (a cell) to do the web, much less FB ... and after some 12 years on the platform I finally said goodbye.

[tangor]

When 2FA means sweet FA privacy: Facebook admits it slurps mobe numbers for more than just profile security
'This isn’t a mistake now, this is clearly an intentional product choice' says ex-CSO Stamos

[theregister.co.uk...]
Another look at the story via a different report.