If you’re syncing, Facebook’s iPhone app will pull all the numbers in your phone’s contact file and upload them to Facebook. While it notes that these numbers are only visible to you, Facebook has a way of, let’s say, shifting its policies. Worse, for many users these numbers are already in its database, and if you’re not comfortable with that (and I’m not) you’re going to need to manually purge them.
First, you want to get your phone straightened out so it doesn’t sync anymore.
Using an iPhone, launch the Facebook app in your iPhone and select Friends. Tap the sync button on the top right and tap sync contacts. Turn off syncing.
If you’re on an Android phone, go the main menu, and click on Settings. Under Other Settings, select Sync Contacts. Select Remove Facebook data.
Now you need to go to Facebook and actually purge any contacts that have already synced. You should go to this page, and select Remove. Bang. They’re gone.
Take that, Mark.
Tom
Friday, August 12, 2011 at 10:56 AMThere’s no optionn to “Remove facebook data” on my android. There’s a “dont sync” option but no ‘remove’
blaze0041
Friday, August 12, 2011 at 11:12 AMThis is the page the article is referring to:
https://www.facebook.com/friends/edit/?sk=phonebook
blaze0041
Friday, August 12, 2011 at 11:17 AMForgot, the link for the first pic in the article is here:
https://www.facebook.com/contact_importer/remove_uploads.php
Molokov
Friday, August 12, 2011 at 11:18 AMThere’s an annoying problem here – I’d like my Facebook contacts to be pulled down from Facebook to my phone (it can, for example, show me their profile picture when they call or text me), but I don’t want extra data linked with that contact (stored under the “Google” heading) to be synced back to Facebook. There’s no option for that.
So it’s basically – remove all Facebook info (including photos) from my phone’s contact list, or share all the info on my phone with Facebook…
Damn you, Zuckerberg!
Geoff
Friday, August 12, 2011 at 11:29 AMI’m pretty sure this has something to do with this new feature:
https://www.facebook.com/mobile/messenger
salmonpie
Friday, August 12, 2011 at 11:45 AMThanks blaze0041
z3d
Friday, August 12, 2011 at 12:08 PMand then how have they used the contact details on your phone and who have they sold it to and who will they sell it to??
MDolley
Friday, August 12, 2011 at 12:34 PMI don’t really care. My mobile number is on my business cards. It’s probably the most meaningless thing that Facebook has. As a database developer I know that there are probably hundreds of business that have my mobile number.
Is everybody freaking out about this also not listed in the white pages? There are heaps of numbers in there.
z3d
Friday, August 12, 2011 at 12:55 PMIt’s got nothing to do with mobile numbers. they’ve scanned through your phone and added the details of everyone in your contacts list including business and personal. the value is in the connections, not the numbers themselves. strange for a database developer to not have an understanding of the value of data.
MDolley
Friday, August 12, 2011 at 1:20 PMI think there is limited value is in the connections. So Facebook finds out that I have “John Smith” in my phone contacts but I’m not a Facebook friend with him. How does that help Facebook sell ads? If John was a Facebook friend then they’d already have more information than my phone had given them anyway.
Let’s say I have “Bob’s Computers” in my phone contacts. Now Facebook knows that I have at some stage called a computer shop. That might be able to help with advertising, but it’s pretty harmless information.
I understand the value of data, I just don’t think my phone contacts is data that Facebook doesn’t already know and is any more useful than the information people willingly give them.
Blacky
Friday, August 12, 2011 at 2:10 PMlets say you do have John Smith’s phone number in your phone but he isn’t your freind on Facebook. And then lets say John Smith has his phone number on his profile in facebook. By syncing FB now knows that you two are connected somehow and can start marketing to you both in certain ways because of it. Facebook can also sell(in theory) that connection to whoever wants to buy it.
MDolley
Friday, August 12, 2011 at 2:48 PM“By syncing FB now knows that you two are connected somehow”
It’s a social media platform. If he is in my phone contacts then maybe I do want to add him as a Facebook friend? Improved friend suggestions is a good thing. If not then I just don’t add him as a friend.
“marketing to you both in certain ways because of it”
How does “Person A knows Person B” affect how ads are presented to either of them? It’s a genuine question, and I can’t figure it out. I am constantly telling Facebook more useful information about what I like directly by liking pages and companies. If I was an ad company “Person A likes Company X, Product Z and a page about Justin Bieber being stupid” would be much more useful than “Person A knows Person B”. I can’t see how “Person A knows Person B” would be information that would be worth a lot to potential buyers. Facebook has WAY better stuff to sell than that.
z3d
Friday, August 12, 2011 at 2:05 PMi assume you’re just trolling… cos otherwise.. just wow.
Blacky
Friday, August 12, 2011 at 2:11 PMI hope so….
MDolley
Friday, August 12, 2011 at 2:35 PMNot trolling at all. It is entirely opt-in and the main uses of the data are to allow better communication between you and your Facebook contacts as well as suggest Facebook friends from your contacts. As a social platform I find it extremely useful that Facebook suggests people I might know. My phone contacts will make these suggestions more targeted and meaningful.
I just don’t buy into the “Facebook is big and evil” hype. I give them data, they sell ads and in turn provide a free service that I enjoy using.
At the end of the day all of this data is just about ads. I just ignore the ads anyway. Mark Zuckerberg isn’t going to break into my house and steal my stuff.
Maybe my perspective is just skewed because my job has made me not take notice of specific data, just it’s type and ‘shape’? Chances are that nobody at Facebook is looking at your specific data, their complicated algorithms do that. You’re nothing more than a record in a database.
I mean yes, there are concerns about hacking. But no more than the AEC which has my address or my local doctors that has my medical history.
justin
Friday, August 12, 2011 at 3:41 PMWho cares! if someone was going to steal your identity there not going to use your phone number are they..no. your phone number is never linked to security questions anyway…gezz people relax.
Murray
Friday, August 12, 2011 at 3:59 PMThe issue I had with this.. If you have someones number in your phone and it syncs to FB in the FB contacts it resolves them. Your get their photo and a link to their profile and an “add Friend” button.
So if someoene got your number and added it to their address book, they see your FB info. and In experiments I did last night your FB info resolves regardless of your privacy settings.
MDolley
Friday, August 12, 2011 at 4:04 PMInteresting. Does it show information beyond what they would see doing a search on your name?
Murray
Friday, August 12, 2011 at 4:14 PMNo it shows your profile picture, your name (which links to your profile) and an add friend button.
But, for example my work colleague is in my iphone. The previous person who had that number is on FB and she isnt. When her number was added to my FB contacts it automatically put the previous persons FB details for me to add, regardless of what I had in my contacts.
FSM
Friday, August 12, 2011 at 11:22 PMThe issue isn’t really that they are collecting this information with consent, its that Facebook constantly shifts and changes their policies many of these have undesired consequences for users as they were not asked when the changes were implemented, at best they could go and turn things back off (like who can see what).
This could have very serious ramifications in the future with people with silent numbers for obvious reasons (stalkers etc), and Facebook is exactly where your modern stalker would hang out the most too.