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back to article Facebook: Our phone app DID seize your email

Facebook has admitted its mobile app altered phones' contacts books to use @facebook.com addresses. The hijack stems from a flaw in the website's design and the decision to provide every user with an @facebook.com handle that forwards to their Facebook message inbox. These addresses are now shown on the site's Timeline to …

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  1. Big_Ted

    Massive fail.....

    Hey Mark, ever heard about testing software before rolling it out to users ?

    what a bunch idiots, they must use the same programmers as RBS..........

    Luckily my HTC ONe S came without the ap and I could disable any Facebook bit dead easy in the aps section.......

    That and Twatter never live on any device I own and never will.

    13 3
    1. LarsG
      Reply Icon
      Mushroom

      This was no

      This was no mistake, this was too big to be a mistake.

      This was a 'lets wait and see' strategy, see how the plebs take it.

      There's a lot of this going on, remember Google and their data collection service, or Apples harvester do data.

      Invariably if or when they are caught out they cry ' it must be a bug '

      There's no excuses for this.

      40 1
      1. Anonymous Cowerd
        Reply Icon
        Unhappy

        Re: This was no

        Judging from how buggy their iPhone app is (e.g. tap comments, get upcoming events), it wouldn't surprise me if it was just another bug in their cr-app.

        On the other hand, with their track record...

        0 0
    2. Anonymous Coward
      Reply Icon
      Anonymous Coward

      Ignorance

      Of the Law is not a defence, a bug in the machine is not a defence, they knew, we know they knew, they know that we knew, we knew what they know that they say they didn't know.

      In simple terms, they knew, we found out, now they claim they didn't know something that was obviously apparent that they knew. Now we know that they will have to find a scapegoat, some underachieving junior programmer that they know, to blame because now we know, still we know this so it is no surprise but they claim now we know we have out it right.

      Until the next time again again again again again........

      4 0
    3. JDX Gold badge
      Reply Icon

      Re: Massive fail.....

      When I met some FB people at a recruitment event, they boasted about how "changes you make today could be being used by millions of people tomorrow".

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      1. Anonymous Coward
        Reply Icon
        FAIL

        Re: Massive fail.....

        Oh a Face Book recruitment event?

        Uggghhhhh How Tragic.

        "they boasted about how "changes you make today could be being used by millions of people tomorrow" - oh like all of your personal information....

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  2. Chris Thomas Alpha
    WTF?

    yeah yeah, it was a bug...

    sure it was.....who wants to bet real money that it wasn't a bug, but hoped that nobody would notice, or care and continue as they did before unaware, or uncaring about the consequences.

    now the damage is done, it can't be reversed, so those people might just think "oh well, nevermind" and use the facebook mail system regardless, because what choice do they have? reinsert emails which they probably forgot about?

    yeah yeah, bug, I'm sure it was...

    thats why I turned off facebook sync...and why I hope you all did it too!!

    7 1
    1. ThomH
      Reply Icon

      Re: yeah yeah, it was a bug...

      Of course it was a bug, and it's just really, ummm, unfortunate that the same bug managed to manifest on both Android and iOS.

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      1. .thalamus
        Reply Icon

        Re: yeah yeah, it was a bug...

        And WP7.

        0 1
        1. James O'Brien
          Reply Icon
          Joke

          @.thalamus

          No. There is no bug in WP7 from Farcebook. The bug is WP7 sorry to inform you. :)

          3 8
        2. David Cantrell
          Reply Icon
          Trollface

          Re: yeah yeah, it was a bug...

          No-one cares about Windows phones though

          2 2
        3. h4rm0ny
          Reply Icon

          Re: yeah yeah, it was a bug...

          "And WP7."

          I'm pretty sure it didn't occur on WP7 devices. Due to the way WP7 integrates and manages contacts and Facebook integration, I'm about 70% sure that FB couldn't ovewrwrite your contacts in this way.

          1 1
          1. dogged
            Reply Icon

            @h4rm0ny

            Nobody uses the WP7 facebook app anyway. There's simply no need to since the OS handles all that nonsense.

            0 1
            1. h4rm0ny
              Reply Icon

              Re: @h4rm0ny

              "Nobody uses the WP7 facebook app anyway. There's simply no need to since the OS handles all that nonsense."

              Sorry - that's what I was talking about. I had actually forgotten there was a Facebook App for WP7 for exactly the reason you gave - anyone using Facebook on WP7 just uses the provided integration in the People Hub. I don't see why anyone would need to use the App either.

              0 1
    2. BillG
      Reply Icon
      WTF?

      Re: yeah yeah, it was a bug...

      It's not a bug, it's a feature... bitches.

      It's like during the early days of the Google toolbar, when a toolbar update set Google as the default search provider and deleted other search providers from browser search. OOPS! it was a bug.

      Why is it these bugs always work in the vendor's favor and never against, hmmm?

      4 0
    3. dcd
      Reply Icon
      Thumb Down

      Re: yeah yeah, it was a bug...

      Better still. Turn off Facebook period!

      2 0
      1. sabroni Silver badge
        Reply Icon
        Unhappy

        Re: Turn off Facebook period!

        You can't on a lot of android phones, unless you root and install an alternative build....

        0 1
        1. Christopher Blackmore
          Reply Icon
          Happy

          But you can...

          You can remove the Facebook app's login info, and set it never to update, and use Google+ instead.

          0 0
          1. Avatar of They
            Reply Icon
            WTF?

            Re: But you can...

            Yeah coz google+ isn't just as bad at datarape????

            "A bug in the Facebook contacts API"

            Facebook corrupts all your information without asking and alters it to suit facebook.

            Bug - my ar5e

            I'll use neither and be happy in ignorrance. (god bless ICS for the disable apps feature.)

            1 0
          2. JDX Gold badge
            Reply Icon

            use Google+ instead

            The perfect social network for people with no friends, I can see why it's popular amongst IT geeks.

            1 1
      2. philbo
        Reply Icon
        Joke

        Re: yeah yeah, it was a bug...

        >Better still. Turn off Facebook period!

        "Facebook period"? Is that part of the timeline?

        0 0
  3. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    "Its a bug"

    Well that's a novel excuse for breaking the law (specifically section 3 of the Computer Misuse Act - unless they say that allowing synchronisation is giving permission to alter data on the phone without any checking.

    16 0
    1. Anonymous Coward
      Reply Icon
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: "Its a bug"

      Call me old fashioned, but I rather thought the idea of synchronisation software was, in fact, to change data on the destination device to match that from the source. Having to get confirmation from the user for every change about to be made kind of defeats the purpose. Add to this the fact that such synchronisation was happening prior to this update to @facebook addresses without cries of "breaking the law, breaking the law" and your comment looks a little OTT.

      2 4
      1. Anonymous Coward
        Reply Icon
        FAIL

        Re: "Its a bug"

        Errm, nobody "gave" permission to have their email addresses changed in the first place (on FaceFsck) and so by conclusion they didn't give permission to have those email addresses of contacts changed on some sync. But then you're obviously so embarrassed by your statement that you had to make it anonymous. Says it all.

        2 1
        1. Anonymous Coward
          Reply Icon
          Anonymous Coward

          Re: "Its a bug"

          Erm, except OP's post was about the *synchronisation* of the changed data breaking the law, not the FB email address change per se. I agree that FB changing email addresses to be their version of an email address was a stupid move on their part, but since that wasn't what OP or I was posting about I guess I should ask you: do you really think that synchronisation software synchronising changes from source to destination is a bug and/or should be subject to the Computer Misuse Act because a third party changed some data?

          Oh and posting AC doesn't mean I have anything to hide, nor does it invalidate my point - the fact that you seem to think that it does "says it all". I'm also guessing that your name in real life isn't "persistability". Pot, meet kettle.

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  4. a53
    FAIL

    Epic fail

    Binned the app again, probably for the last time.

    2 0
  5. Test Man
    FAIL

    No surprise there - the Facebook app is an AWFUL app. Fortunately I don't ever use stupid sync features for contacts cos this is one reason why.

    1 0
    1. jai
      Reply Icon

      that didn't matter, i didn't have it switched on on my phone either, but it still showed the facebook emails in preference to the others.

      fortunately, it didn't sync those over the cloud to my other devices, so the confusion is isolated to just my phone

      0 0
  6. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    All your emails belong to me.

    Bitch.

    That is all.

    1 0
  7. Arachnoid
    FAIL

    User feedback is always welcome in regard to Facebook new features at recyclebin@facebook.com

    2 0
  8. Barry Rueger

    Facebook = Slippery and Slimy

    Even though I use it, primarily because everyone in my (non-work) universe uses it, I haven't trusted Facebook for a very long time.

    After about the third or fourth round of egregious behaviour I went through my profile and stripped out every bit of personal detail. Sure, Facebook almost always backs down when caught red handed, but that's not good enough.

    Still, even by Facebook standards this is way, way over the line. Messing with data on my phone is a serious matter, and enough to remove Facebook entirely from that part of my on-line life.

    Sigh, If there were more than ten people I know on either G+ or Diaspora I might even change.

    3 0
  9. FatGerman
    Megaphone

    Bug... hmmmm

    So, the bug is: that there happens to be some code in there, accidentally one must assume, that is able to modify your contacts, specifically by doing a search and replace of email addresses. Erm, sorry.. how did code like that get in there by accident? Or if we assume the code is there on purpose but this is a bug in that code, then for what purpose is that code in there in the first place? Why do you want to mess with my contacts?

    Or are you just spouting bollocks Mr Zuckerberg?

    See, they know that it'll take a lot to make people stop using Facebook, since for many of us it has become something we like and use a lot, despite our better judgement. So they feel they can just do what they like and we'll put up with it. And apparently they can all sleep at night and live with the fact that they're devious, lying, morally repugnant pieces of slime.

    I'm going now to post that on my wall.

    2 0
  10. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Well

    WTF is Facebook? I'm too busy with my friends to bother.

    4 4
  11. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    I wonder how many laws they've broken.

    Without any thinking at all on the subject, I can fail to see how this doesn't break the interception of communications acts of all european union countries, the UK, and the US.

    0 0
  12. Jeebus

    Lies.

    Intentional act from Zuckerberg and his cadre, much like Google and their insidious creeping and stealing data without consent Facebook are doing the same, retreating behind the same lies.

    0 2
  13. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Problem is, I'll only use standalone apps for Facebook now after lots of other websites started to "borrow" the saved FB login credentials from my browser to show me Like buttons and things across those non-Facebook sites. Far too creepy!

    Hoping when Apple add FB to iOS6 they leave the option to still use FB when I explicitly want to, but not let it anywhere near my contacts or emails!

    1 0
  14. ChessGeek

    No Thanks

    I'm not letting FaceBroke anywhere near my phone.

    0 2
  15. JaitcH
    FAIL

    Facebook ...

    the poster boy for incompetence and lying,

    0 0
  16. Raphael
    Devil

    The bug

    was that people noticed what they had done.

    2 0
    1. Darth_RayDar
      Reply Icon
      Devil

      Re: The bug

      "The bug // was that people noticed what they had done."

      "Noticing" is a feature which will be deprecated and removed in the next release, delivering an improved user experience. Yes, they have our interests at heart.

      0 0
  17. xyz Silver badge
    Devil

    **COUGH**!

    ...my arse. At least with Apple, you know you're gonna get f****d if you get involved with them. With Facebook and Google, they try to slip you one when you're not looking and then go "oops, we didn't realise we tadgered you," please accept our word it won't happen again.

    These are the sort of excuses that come out in an E.R when a bloke presents himself with a lightbulb up him or a hoover attached to his junk. Oops, I slipped and....

    3 0
  18. DJ Smiley
    Facepalm

    My default never changed...

    What doesn't make sense to me is my default email address on facebook has never changed from my original gmail account.

    I keep hearing stories of how people have been switched over to using the facebook one by default, I login, check mine, nope, still gmail.

    Are these people doing something special to have fb screwing with their account settings? Clicking "ok change my account!" on a popup that appears or something?

    0 0
    1. Anonymous Coward
      Reply Icon
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: My default never changed...

      Are you completely dumb and didn't read the stories from today and yesterday?

      It doesn't mess with your login settings, it fecks your contacts you pleb.

      0 1
  19. SirAdelaide

    The problem of lost emails was not one of "not having enough friends".

    It was your friends not listing their real email address on Facebook for security reasons, so Facebook didn't recognise the 'from' address.

    0 0
  20. Mike Judge
    Megaphone

    intentional data slurp

    It was always the plan to route all you mail through FB, the bug is just a lame excuse.

    Personally this is a million times worse than Google street view slurp (which only affected unsecured hot spots, and only if they were sending data at that exact moment, and only if it wasn't over https)

    This is blatant data harvesting of everything you sent and received.

    I hope it gets appropriate press coverage and similar attention from the EU and other privacy police.

    1 0
  21. Piro Silver badge
    Pint

    Good thing I've never used Facebook then..

    Nothing to change my mind here..

    1 0
  22. Andus McCoatover
    Windows

    Can someone please, please tell me why these folks can't just stop poking each other in the eye?

    Oh, lawyers' fees. My bad.

    0 0
  23. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    "assuming the affected users still have the Facebook app installed"

    One thing that really galls me is that the Facebook app is part of the crapware that you can't remove from most smartphones without rooting them- for example, the most you can do on Android is roll it back to the version of the app that shipped.

    I would love to be able to remove most of the spurious cruft that Samsung, HTC et all foist on us- Samsung even has its own extra app store- surely you could reinstall from there, if you had a brainfart and decided you couldn't live without Flipbook or some other shit?

    </rant>, sorry, I will go and sit quietly now..

    0 1
  24. JimmyPage Silver badge
    Holmes

    So, facebook want their users ...

    to mail everyone via "@facebook.com".

    And nobody can see why ?

    0 1
  25. Code Monkey

    Bug my arse

    0 0
    1. philbo
      Reply Icon
      Joke

      >Bug my arse

      I'd rather not.

      1 0
  26. Fred Flintstone Gold badge
    Megaphone

    Primitive poll: this was a deliberate act by Facebook.

    If you think it was an "accident", downvote.

    If you think it was a deliberate act: upvote (which is my personal opinion, on account of the fact that such "accidents" always happen to benefit Facebook)

    Note to El Reg: can we have a polling system?

    12 1

  27. This post has been deleted by its author

  28. Amorous Cowherder

    OH BOLLOCKS!

    FB knew it would do it and they also knew most people won't bother to undo the "damage", so FB win once again!

    "Oh yeah, we f**ked up! Sorry people!", words are the cheapest and most debased currency.

    1 0
  29. David Simpson 1
    Thumb Down

    Utter LIES

    There was no bug - Facebook made their own email address the default address then the app synced it to people's phones, this erroneous claim of a bug is being used to cover their collected asses because they didn't think through what would happen when they changed everyones default settings.

    I didn't even have an email address listed on my page and they stuck my Facebook address on there - way to go Facebook instead of advertising and maybe giving people a reason to use your email system, you have now made sure that nobody will ever use it !

    0 0
  30. mike acker

    bug?

    yeah, whatever

    0 0
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