A recent Facebook photo bug resulted in users’ private photos being shared.
According to Facebook (NASDAQ:FB), the bug resulted in pictures from some 6.8 million users being shared with third-party apps without permission. This includes pictures that users may not have even uploaded.
The Facebook photo bug includes pictures that users may have been planning to post, but decided against. Facebook says it stores a private copy of this photo for later in case the person changes their mind or had to stop before posting.
Other pictures that are included in the Facebook photo bug include those not posted to a person’s timeline. This covers images that are posted to Facebook Marketplace, as well as those used for cover photos.
The Facebook photo bug lasted for 12 days. This was from Sept. 13, 2018 to Sept. 25, 2018. During this time, the 6.8 million users’ images were shared with third-party apps with photo permissions.
Facebook notes that it is already working on tools to help developers identify and delete the images accidentally shared with them. This includes 876 developers that have made up to 1,500 apps. The social media company is also going to be sending out notifications to users that are affected by the Facebook photo bug.
“We are also recommending people log into any apps with which they have shared their Facebook photos to check which photos they have access to,” Facebook employee Tomer Bar said in a news release.
As of this writing, William White did not hold a position in any of the aforementioned securities.
