Facebook users can now delete uploaded contacts, a feature revealed as scrutiny over the company’s data practices continues. The social media giant provides a dedicated interface for managing these contacts, accessible at https://www.facebook.com/invite_history.php, allowing for both individual and bulk deletion of uploaded data. A similar page exists for contacts originating from Facebook Messenger, located at https://www.facebook.com/mobile/messenger/contacts/contacts.
Users concerned about preventing future contact uploads have multiple options. Within the Facebook app for Android, users can navigate to Settings & Privacy, then Settings, and utilize the search bar to find “Contacts.” Selecting “Kontenübersicht, Kontakte hochladen” (Account Overview, Upload Contacts) reveals separate settings for Facebook and Messenger. Users can disable continuous contact checking for each platform individually. The process involves toggling a switch; a greyed-out switch indicates the feature is already disabled.
Beyond the Facebook app, users can also manage permissions at the operating system level. Accessing app settings on a smartphone allows users to deny Facebook and Messenger access to stored contacts. This is achieved by navigating to the apps section within the phone’s settings, selecting Facebook or Messenger, and then adjusting the permissions to revoke contact access.
These privacy controls reach amid ongoing repercussions from past data controversies, notably the 2018 Cambridge Analytica scandal. The German consumer protection group, vzbv, initiated legal action against Facebook’s “friends-finding” function in 2018, a case temporarily suspended due to uncertainties surrounding the legal standing of consumer organizations in GDPR violation cases. The Berlin Landgericht resumed proceedings following a ruling by the European Court of Justice clarifying such standing.
The Cambridge Analytica scandal exposed the practice of external firms collecting, storing, and processing publicly available information from Facebook users. Users responded by requesting copies of their profile data, revealing that Facebook had also been recording and storing data related to phone and SMS activity. While the possibility of such data collection was not fresh, its potential utilize sparked widespread concern.
In response to these revelations, Google, the maker of the Android operating system, restricted access to phone and SMS functionality for apps in early 2019. New Android versions require developers to justify the necessitate for such access, aiming to prevent the surreptitious collection of user behavior data. Apps now require explicit user permission to send and receive messages or build phone calls, and Google requires developers to explain why these permissions are necessary.
