Facebook questioned about pulling data from Android devices

On the same day Facebook bought ads in U.S. and British newspapers to apologize for the Cambridge Analytica scandal, the social media site faced new questions about collecting phone numbers and text messages from Android devices.

The website Ars Technica reported that users who checked data collected by Facebook found that it had years of contact names, telephone numbers, call lengths and text messages.

Facebook says the information is uploaded to secure servers and comes only from users who allow it. The company says the data is not sold or shared with friends or outside apps. Spokeswomen say the data is used “to improve people’s experience across Facebook” by helping to connect with others.

Facebook says the data was used only from Android phones.

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