We know Facebook tracks your personal information, but does Facebook track your phone calls and texts, too?
Since Mark Zuckerberg admitted to Facebook exposing the data more than 50 million users to British consulting Cambridge Analytica, people have created the #DeleteFacebook movement causing many users to cut ties with the social network and delete their accounts completely.
Facebook gives its users the option to download all your data in a .Zip file , but depending on your privacy settings, the social network might be holding on to more of your information than you could imagine. Facebook can track your mobile phone activity, including every call and text you have made.
Author Mat Johnson recently downloaded and opened his Facebook file and said it contained every mobile phone call he made for the past year.
Oh wow my deleted Facebook Zip file contains info on every single phone cellphone call and text I made for about a year- cool totally not creepy.
— Mat Johnson (@mat_johnson) March 23, 2018
How to check to see if Facebook tracks your phone calls
If you’re interested in finding out if Facebook tracked your mobile phone usage, you first have to download all of your data from the website.
Download file of your Facebook data
Click downward facing triangle at the top right of any Facebook page. Select Settings Below General Account Settings, click Download a copy of your Facebook data Here’s the creepy part. You can find out if Facebook has been tracking your mobile phone data by opening an HTML file.
Go to the HTML folder in the .ZIP file. Open the contact_info.htm file. You will be able to see a record of all the contact, call and text data Facebook has stored on your phone.
Although Facebook makes it easy for you to sync your contacts in your mobile device with contacts on Facebook, what you’re actually doing is giving the social network permission to store your data. According to Facebook, uploading your contacts and phone numbers and nicknames “lets friends find each other on Facebook” and helps “create a better experience for everyone” when you activate certain features on the app.
Does Facebook track your calls and texts?
According to Facebook, the company claims it does not store the content of your text messages or calls and says they do not sell your information. “We never sell this data, and this feature does not collect the content of your text messages or calls,” Facebook explained in a recent blog post.
In the post, they said users have the ability to opt-out at any point if you don’t want your information shared with Facebook.
