Facebook won’t let you opt out of its phone number ‘look up’ setting • Hacker News Board

Re: Facebook won’t let you opt out of its phone number ‘look up’ setting

#71

Post by tomhoward » Mon, Mar 04, 2019, 7:04 AM UTC

superkuh wrote: post #67

hopler wrote: post #60

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Deleting one's account does appear to be a mitigation

These constant articles are like watching someone stick their hand on a hot stove and complain over and over that it hurts. But try suggesting they take their hand off the burner and nope, freak outs and/or insults. It really is an option. It really is the best option. It isn't flippant or sarcasm.

It may not be a great loss to you, but for many people, deleting Facebook would come at a great cost.

Facebook has done a sufficiently good job of intertwining itself into people's lives, so that to abandon it would mean losing touch with family and friends, missing out on invitations to events, excluding one's self from valued discussion groups and more.

What people resent is that Facebook seems to hold people to ransom like this, now they've made people so reliant on it.

So, sure, people can just leave, fine. But don't diminish the fact that for many people, quitting Facebook would have serious drawbacks.

Re: Facebook won’t let you opt out of its phone number ‘look up’ setting

#72

Post by derefr » Mon, Mar 04, 2019, 7:07 AM UTC

bfred_it wrote: post #43

on_and_off wrote: post #34

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There are also a non negligible number of people using an alias on facebook because they have good reason. Apparently when a woman uses a pseudonym on facebook, it is not unlikely that it is because of a nasty/stalkerish ex that she would rather get away from. I am actually in favor of a transparent society (a la david brin) , but we have to grown up a lot and handle such cases before the advantages that come with it…

We had a million years to grow up, I don't think we'll ever get there (without drastic measures a la 1984, if you wish)

We haven’t started doing any serious genetic engineering (or maybe, depending on timeline, the equivalent for minds uploaded into computers) yet. Once we do, we could do a lot of “growing up” very quickly.

Re: Facebook won’t let you opt out of its phone number ‘look up’ setting

#73

Post by shadowprofile76 » Mon, Mar 04, 2019, 7:09 AM UTC

gotocake wrote: post #58

willio58 wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

So get off public social networks. Problem solved.

I realize that you’re getting slammed for a pat, trite, or unhelpful answer to a complex problem, but it also happens to be the only answer. It’s an answer with real consequences, but when weighed against giving your privacy over to FB what else is to be done right now? Public social networks are poison, they’re inimical to privacy, and we need to get off of any that harvest personal information. Telling people to “q…

One major difficulty with leaving Facebook in particular over privacy concerns is that it doesn't really stop the social network from violating your privacy, or letting others do it (often without bad intentions on their part). Aside from its now famous shadow profiles, you've got your friends and family or work/business associates posting things with you in them, photos, videos etc and even naming you (don't think they can tag you though if your profile is shut down). And if you've erased your profile you can't even have the minimal safety of monitoring what gets posted by who, so you can ask them to maybe take it down if it's harmful. We get sucked into FB's network effect in all sorts of ways nowadays if we live any kind of normal social life in a connected society.

Re: Facebook won’t let you opt out of its phone number ‘look up’ setting

#74

Post by ascorbic » Mon, Mar 04, 2019, 7:12 AM UTC

This is surely a breach of GDRP. One of the principles is that data must only be used for the purpose for which it was collected. Taking a number provided explicitly for 2FA and using it for search certainly sounds like a breach.

Re: Facebook won’t let you opt out of its phone number ‘look up’ setting

#75

Post by superkuh » Mon, Mar 04, 2019, 7:16 AM UTC

tomhoward wrote: post #71

superkuh wrote: post #67

Earlier quoted context omitted.

These constant articles are like watching someone stick their hand on a hot stove and complain over and over that it hurts. But try suggesting they take their hand off the burner and nope, freak outs and/or insults. It really is an option. It really is the best option. It isn't flippant or sarcasm.

It may not be a great loss to you, but for many people, deleting Facebook would come at a great cost. Facebook has done a sufficiently good job of intertwining itself into people's lives, so that to abandon it would mean losing touch with family and friends, missing out on invitations to events, excluding one's self from valued discussion groups and more. What people resent is that Facebook seems to hold people to ra…

I'm aware how dependent many people are. I imagine that's why suggesting they take responsibility for themselves triggers such emotional responses. I recall one academic study showed people would have to be paid ~$1000 before they'd consider stopping for just a year. But that only makes it all the more important.

If people don't like the way things are then they have to be the change. Facebook is not going to change as it's business model is based on selling it's users. In the absense of taking responsibility for themselves or Facebook chosing to change many default to arguements for government regulation. Bringing in the use of force like this creates problems significantly worse than the privacy issues of the original voluntary Facebook use.

Re: Facebook won’t let you opt out of its phone number ‘look up’ setting

#76

Post by efiecho » Mon, Mar 04, 2019, 7:17 AM UTC

Quiark wrote: post #69

How do we coordinate outrage at facebook for this and many terrible things they've done?

Why coordinate outrage? So they will "learn" and do better in the future, HAHAHA.

Seriously, just delete your account, no one needs Facebook even those that make up ridiculous excuses for why the can't leave Facebook.

Re: Facebook won’t let you opt out of its phone number ‘look up’ setting

#77

Post by zdragnar » Mon, Mar 04, 2019, 7:18 AM UTC

on_and_off wrote: post #34

potatofarmer45 wrote: post #14

This will make keeping your social media private during recruiting much much harder because rather than trying to search for your name on FB or your email, an interviewer can just search your listed contact number. Names are often not unique but phone numbers are. This matters because creating a new email account for recruiting is trivial, yet creating a new phone number for recruiting is not. Most phones are not dua…

There are also a non negligible number of people using an alias on facebook because they have good reason. Apparently when a woman uses a pseudonym on facebook, it is not unlikely that it is because of a nasty/stalkerish ex that she would rather get away from. I am actually in favor of a transparent society (a la david brin) , but we have to grown up a lot and handle such cases before the advantages that come with it…

While I appreciate the premise and good intent, the transparent society sounds like an idealized Girardian nightmare to me.

Re: Facebook won’t let you opt out of its phone number ‘look up’ setting

#78

Post by raverbashing » Mon, Mar 04, 2019, 7:19 AM UTC

potatofarmer45 wrote: post #14

This will make keeping your social media private during recruiting much much harder because rather than trying to search for your name on FB or your email, an interviewer can just search your listed contact number. Names are often not unique but phone numbers are. This matters because creating a new email account for recruiting is trivial, yet creating a new phone number for recruiting is not. Most phones are not dua…

Phones are not unique but a lot of them are reused when a subscriber changes provider

(They could have always searched you by name, if you're worried about your identity then it makes sense to not connect your phone number to FB)

Re: Facebook won’t let you opt out of its phone number ‘look up’ setting

#79

Post by mirimir » Mon, Mar 04, 2019, 7:28 AM UTC

potatofarmer45 wrote: post #14

This will make keeping your social media private during recruiting much much harder because rather than trying to search for your name on FB or your email, an interviewer can just search your listed contact number. Names are often not unique but phone numbers are. This matters because creating a new email account for recruiting is trivial, yet creating a new phone number for recruiting is not. Most phones are not dua…

That's why you never give them your primary number. Have a burner phone. Or lease a SIM in the Philippines.

Re: Facebook won’t let you opt out of its phone number ‘look up’ setting

#80

Post by hkjayakumar » Mon, Mar 04, 2019, 7:31 AM UTC

cmurf wrote: post #29

sanxiyn wrote: post #8

Just delete the phone number. You can use two factor authentication with OTP, SMS part is unnecessary.

The last time I tried to do this, about a year, it required a phone number to enable 2FA in the first place, and then it was possible to use OTP (with e.g. Google Authenticator). But once I got sucked into doing that, I couldn't delete the phone number to do only OTP without it also disabling 2FA.

It still gives the same warning if you remove the phone number while TOTP is enabled. But I was able to remove and then set up TOTP based 2FA without a phone number.

I should add that removing the phone number didn't actually delete the number from my profile (who could have known?). You have to go into the Mobile tab and remove the phone number again.

All this despite me reluctantly adding my phone number just for 2FA. Dark patterns throughout the website.