Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Facebook spamming users via their 2FA phone numbers

mashable.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

221–230 of 380 posts

Re: Facebook spamming users via their 2FA phone numbers

#221

Post by r00fus »

Giroflex wrote: post #209
saguro wrote: post #157

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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…

When I first opened up the Netflix mobile app and it asked me if I wanted it to show me notifications I thought "hey, that's nice, most apps just start spamming me without asking". I clicked "No thanks" and went on my way. It turns out, though, that it asks that _every_ single time I open the app. It's really annoying and I'm about to allow them only to block them at the OS level.

This is one reason some folks prefer Apple. iOS had privacy options at the OS level for years before Android got into the game (yes xPrivacy but not everyone can root)

Re: Facebook spamming users via their 2FA phone numbers

#222

Post by toomanybeersies »

danbruc wrote: post #199
toomanybeersies wrote: post #170

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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. Als…

Everybody uses power utilities, but what's the search volume for power companies?

Re: Facebook spamming users via their 2FA phone numbers

#223

Post by vadimberman »

OK, so my hunch was right.

It's not only Facebook, BTW. Whenever you provide those "additional details" to "secure" your account, be sure there's a high probability they will be used elsewhere.

In my case, I provided a personal email address to Azure as an alternative email. That email address had an Azure account associated with it. Microsoft merged the two accounts without me asking for it and (not very surprising) it caused some issues displaying the subscriptions properly to the point that their support asked me to create an empty subscription with a brand new email address.

Re: Facebook spamming users via their 2FA phone numbers

#224

Post by jsjohnst »

sshine wrote: post #219
jkmcf wrote: post #91

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If you never comment on each other's posts, then you aren't interacting. However, it is a great way to "keep appraised" of how people are doing. There are a ton of people I've met throughout my life and around the world, but only a handful with whom I want to interact regularly. FB, annoying as it is, at least let's me know if they are doing ok.

> FB, annoying as it is, at least let's me know if they are doing ok. For some arbitrary definition of they . I've had a father of a childhood friend die and I didn't notice for two years. But that weird Australian friend of my former roommate that I helped through public transport from the airport last year? I get her drunk pictures. They didn't even like each other.

If you don’t like what you’re seeing, click the “hide stuff like this” option. I used to complain at end, then a friend forced me to use that feature and I rarely see something I don’t care about now (but still miss stuff I do care about as I don’t check FB that often).

Re: Facebook spamming users via their 2FA phone numbers

#225

Post by rorykoehler »

sizzle wrote: post #188
saguro wrote: post #157

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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…

As an ethical UX designer, unethical UX designers/PMs/ need to be shamed for creating/allowing dark pattern in their work. This goes against the fundamental tenets of empathetic UX design and in downright manipulative and bordering evil.

From the UX I've studied it seems that ethics is unrelated. Typically in consumer apps the goal is to increase MAU and engagement and UX is dictated by whatever moves the needle on those areas. It's hard to separate whether people are using the app more because of it's better design through UX design feedback loop iterations or if it is a dark pattern.

For example it is entirely plausible that the sms notification being sent once you put in a 2FA number is completely unrelated. In a normalised database there will only be one phone number for multiple uses. If notifications are set to send to the phone number by default and 2fa uses that phone number the app will not necessarily have knowledge whether the phone number was entered due to a 2fa prompt or something else. It only checks for a phone number and acts accordingly. The 2 people/teams who designed each feature would most probably have no idea how else the number is being used such is the nature of complexity.

Re: Facebook spamming users via their 2FA phone numbers

#226

Post by loorinm »

endless1234 wrote: post #32
loorinm wrote: post #7

This happened to me too. The value of being on facebook is an illusion. In person relationships are vastly more rewarding, both emotionally and financially.

Is that really something people do - substitute in person relationships for Facebook ones? "I could hang out with my SO today, but I guess I'll just go on FB instead"

Well, every time you choose to do one thing, you also choose to not do a million other things.

A lot of people are experiencing real harm to their mental state from habitual social media use.

Re: Facebook spamming users via their 2FA phone numbers

#227

Post by itronitron »

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…

people could start writing letters again, that would be interesting

Re: Facebook spamming users via their 2FA phone numbers

#228

Post by newscracker »

L_226 wrote: post #218
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…

Anecdata: I deleted my FB account a few months ago, every few weeks I get an SMS asking if I need help signing in. Also get the same message emailed to original account email address and (!) my work email address - which I've never entered into Facebook.

The work address part is just terrible and totally unethical. Facebook might have gotten your work address from other people who have shared their device/services address books with it, but I thought this is used only for more profiling and targeting, not blatant misuse!

Re: Facebook spamming users via their 2FA phone numbers

#229

Post by bradgessler »

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…

Jiffy Lube spammed their customers via SMS and got sued for $47m.

Source: https://www.tatango.com/blog/how-the-tcpa-impacts-text-messa...

I don’t know the details about FBs (mis-)use of SMS for this particular situation and IANAL, but perhaps they accidentally opened themselves up to this massive liablitly.

Re: Facebook spamming users via their 2FA phone numbers

#230

Post by tgsovlerkhgsel »

loorinm wrote: post #213
debaserab2 wrote: post #53

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No, it's not an illusion and it has nothing to do with facebook only relationships (I don't even know what that is). All the people I contact on facebook I have in person relationships with. For well over the past 3 years its primary function has been as an organizational tool for my close group of friends. Few of us update our status or regularly post on there anymore. They live in different cities, states, or count…

Its not that hard to sign up for an account on airtable or trello or whatever service.

It is hard to have all your friends on that specific service.
Post reply on HN