Facebook saves extensive call, text data made by Android users: Ars Technica

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Mark Zuckerberg, chief executive officer of Facebook Inc., speaks during an event in Menlo Park, California.

Android cellphone users have noticed that Facebook has saved a virtual trove of their personal call data that extends back years, according to a report in Ars Technica.

Amid an outcry over the social network’s handling of a controversy involving a third-party application’s misuse of personal data, the publication reported that several Android users who pulled down archive data from Facebook found very detailed personal metadata. That information included call logs containing names, phone numbers, and the length of each call made.

In a statement given to Ars Technica, Facebook pointed out that the call log was “a widely used practice to begin by uploading your phone contacts.” The person added that users give their consent by uploading their contacts, a function that’s optional. People can also delete contact data from their profiles by using a tool available on Web browsers, Facebook stated.

In the wake of the Cambridge Analytica data scandal, more Facebook users have become increasingly educated aboutthe data they’re sharingwith the platform, and how that information is being used.

Facebook has come under mounting pressure from privacy advocates, advertisers and people who use the platform. On Sunday, the network was forced to take out ads in major publications to apologize for the data scandal.

Some users have even begun opting out of using the site altogether, although Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg said last week that people weren’t ditching the site in large numbers.

Ars Technica’s full story can be found on its website.