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Facebook spamming users via their 2FA phone numbers

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Re: Facebook spamming users via their 2FA phone numbers

#191

Post by egypturnash »

duncan_bayne wrote: post #89
darkstar999 wrote: post #61

Earlier quoted context omitted.

We might be seeing the (slow) decline of Facebook, but in no way will we see the decline of social media that causes those bad effects.

Unless there is a sufficient cultural backlash for social media _in general_ to become 'uncool'. "Look at that loser. Spends all his time checking Instagram." Is it Machiavellian to wonder how we could memetically inoculate children against social media?

No. Not at all. We teach kids about a lot of dangers already. Some are real, some are highly exaggerated. For-profit social media is a thing we’re starting to realize may be a complicated, subtle danger. Maybe all social media. Maybe just corporate-owned social media.

Re: Facebook spamming users via their 2FA phone numbers

#192

Post by ceejayoz »

Meph504 wrote: post #79
ceejayoz wrote: post #10

If they're not processing STOP as an opt-out, they're in major violation of the CTIA's rules on short codes.

these aren't marketing campaigns and a part of your subscribed service, they aren't violating anything, and aren't required to process short codes in this case.

It's my understanding that any short code must respect the STOP wording as an opt-out.

Re: Facebook spamming users via their 2FA phone numbers

#193

Post by tylersmith »

ReidZB wrote: post #22
SamLevin88 wrote: post #4

Finally, somewhere I can appropriately vent about this. About TWO years ago I was constantly annoyed by the 'secure your account: add your phone number here' banner frequently displayed at the top of the page upon loading FB, so I input my number to make it disappear for good. (Also, they kept hiding the 'x' (close) icon in different spots, making the banner difficult to dismiss.) A few days later I got a text messag…

> I realize that the proper solution is to terminate my account and never attempt to log back in.... but I've had my account since 2006 and despite the company's terrible practices, I'm really not interested in disconnecting for good at this time Well, that's the real problem, isn't it? If users aren't punishing Facebook by leaving the platform in droves, then what incentive does Facebook have to stop its consistentl…

The amount of people that complain about a service, product, or company, yet continue to be customers, astounds me. And then they wonder how they get away with their practices.

Re: Facebook spamming users via their 2FA phone numbers

#194

Post by kyteland »

saguro wrote: post #157
SamLevin88 wrote: post #4

Finally, somewhere I can appropriately vent about this. About TWO years ago I was constantly annoyed by the 'secure your account: add your phone number here' banner frequently displayed at the top of the page upon loading FB, so I input my number to make it disappear for good. (Also, they kept hiding the 'x' (close) icon in different spots, making the banner difficult to dismiss.) A few days later I got a text messag…

That thing facebook does with demanding your phone number, that's my favorite dark pattern. Apple does the same thing with iOS upgrades. First you pose a seemingly innocent question, like 'would you like to give us your phone number so we can keep your account secure?' or 'would you like to upgrade to new iOS?'. Then you take away the NO option. You replace it with 'i'll decide later'. And by doing so, you make it no…

> Whoever the designers are who came up with this stuff, fuck them.

Are you sure you're laying the blame at the feet of the right people? I'm a design lead on a mobile game and I find myself in a constant battle against these kind of shenanigans with the PM team.

Re: Facebook spamming users via their 2FA phone numbers

#195

Post by tylersmith »

DanielBMarkham wrote: post #113
ReidZB wrote: post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I realize that the proper solution is to terminate my account and never attempt to log back in.... but I've had my account since 2006 and despite the company's terrible practices, I'm really not interested in disconnecting for good at this time Well, that's the real problem, isn't it? If users aren't punishing Facebook by leaving the platform in droves, then what incentive does Facebook have to stop its consistentl…

"...Well, that's the real problem, isn't it? If users aren't punishing Facebook by leaving the platform in droves, then what incentive does Facebook have to stop its consistently user-hostile business practices?..." And the reason they're not leaving and don't want to leave? Where else are you going to connect up with old friends and remote family members? I said it when Facebook started growing like gangbusters. Fac…

You can connect with them over email, SMS, or even not at all. Or you can use Facebook and experience the downsides that everyone is mentioning. This is a timeless story where a company provides a service, people get used to it, then complain when the company changes the service against their liking. You are and have always been free to communicate as if FB never existed. They owe you and your family nothing. But in many cases people prefer to pay the costs of using the service. They're not the devil just because you fail at communication without them.

Re: Facebook spamming users via their 2FA phone numbers

#196

Post by bprasanna »

terlisimo wrote: post #152

I just remembered that I got an "password reset" email from facebook like a month ago? I didn't log in to my FB account since 2008 or so. For a minute I was baffled and thought someone might be trying to hack my defunct profile (but why?) and my instinctive reaction was to log in and reset the password but gave up and forgot about it. But now that people keep mentioning shady "come back, come back, to Mordor we'll ta…

Yes, this follows the same strategy. All they want is to lure the user back. Either message will say reset password, or trouble logging in.

Re: Facebook spamming users via their 2FA phone numbers

#197

Post by rainbowmverse »

chesimov wrote: post #81
jnbiche wrote: post #54

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> to scrub historical information from the platform. You know they never actually delete user data, right? They don't delete your data if you actually delete your account, much less if you just delete a post. They just stop displaying it then.

This is something I wonder about. I'm certain they never delete anything, because in aggregate all that data is surely very valuable and will be for years to come. However, I hope that by marking it for deletion, it becomes more likely that it gets stored on increasingly distant/cold media, increasing the likelihood that over the years it gets overwritten or corrupted or some drives fail. If times get difficult, mayb…

They're very serious about data preservation.

https://code.facebook.com/posts/1433093613662262/-under-the-...

Re: Facebook spamming users via their 2FA phone numbers

#198

Post by thephyber »

fortylove wrote: post #104

As this stream of negative facebook articles continue, I can't help but feel duped about my experiences with it. I've quit fb since new years, but I can't help but wonder if I was played the whole time. I feel like they advertised fb as an altruistic platform, when in reality, I was just a means to marketing dollars and they fed whatever altruistic lines they wanted to keep me coming back. Serious question: does fb p…

> I feel like they advertised fb as an altruistic platform

Zuck's "Facebook's mission is to give people the power to build community and bring the world closer together" always felt like a stretch. If they were altruistic, they would be a B corp or a non-profit, not a Delaware-based C corp. Never forget that companies are run by Boards and that your data can be reappropriated if the company is merged with another.

Hell, even Enron's mission statement was:

> We treat others as we would like to be treated ourselves....We do not tolerate abusive or disrespectful treatment. Ruthlessness, callousness and arrogance don't belong here[1]

> when in reality, I was just a means to marketing dollars and they fed whatever altruistic lines they wanted to keep me coming back.

Meh. It's marketing. You typically don't tell the most attractive person your worst qualities when they first see you. You try to make a good impression by highlighting your more attractive qualities and staying quiet about the others.

The NSA doesn't tell you it's watching all of your internet activity and correlating it to build profiles on you and your 6 billion fellow great apes. The NSA's marketing is to try and make you forget that it's there, one of the reasons it was dubbed "No Such Agency". When the CIA and the NSA do make their rare public statement, they talk about themselves as the "intelligence community".

BP doesn't advertise itself as a cost-cutting, Deepwater Horizon spilling, exploding rig megacorp. They advertise themselves as the company that saved the Gulf Coast from near permanent economic collapse.

VW doesn't advertise itself as a lying, massively polluting company that makes more cars than any other. They advertise themselves as the "people's car" that is small and cute and sleek. Oh, and they lied that one time, but they learned from their mistakes and they are making amends.

[1] http://www.nytimes.com/2002/01/19/opinion/enron-s-vision-and...

Re: Facebook spamming users via their 2FA phone numbers

#199

Post by danbruc »

toomanybeersies wrote: post #170
danbruc wrote: post #124

The social media behemoth has seen a decline in traffic in recent weeks along with millions of users leaving its platform [...] Two years ago I said that Facebook will be dead by 2020 [1] and that line made me check the current situation, we are right on track and linear extrapolation still hits zero in mid 2020 [2]. As mentioned in the original thread, don't get fooled by the normalized numbers, the search traffic f…

Most people access Facebook through the app or directly to the website. Google search traffic is not a good indicator of Facebook users or popularity.

That is not really a convincing argument, even if nobody used searching to get to Facebook, the search traffic would still reflect the general interest in Facebook. But given the huge search traffic it is not convincing that nobody uses search to access Facebook to begin with. So one has to at least argue that the decline in search traffic is due to user migrating from browser to app or something along that line. Also see the comments in the old thread.

Re: Facebook spamming users via their 2FA phone numbers

#200

Post by tylersmith »

Feniks wrote: post #186
tjoff wrote: post #50

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In my book this is more or less another proof that you should be vary of vendor lockin and that under no circumstances whatsoever use any such system for communication. It is bad enough to change phone number but you simply can't change facebook to something else and continue as usual. I guess this leaves email, SMS and IRC as the main remaining options. Somehow this needs to be communicated to the general public, bu…

Yep. As as a European WhatsApp has become as essential as breathing. Just the thought of coordinating all my contacts to switch over to another app is scary. Unless WhatsApp ever charges money. That would get people to move.

If you genuinely consider a phone app as essential as breathing you should reevaluate your situation before it goes away or causes you issues. If your life and communications ever become hampered due to WA there's no one to blame but yourself. It's a large point of failure for people that rely on others so heavily.
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