Unfortunately some of the apps available on Google Play have security holes that may put the privacy of our data at risk. You even have to be careful with applications that pose as antivirus when in reality they are a threat to our mobile phones.
Symantec has just released a new version of its security application for Android Norton mobile security, which includes technology Norton Mobile Insight and that it is capable of detecting malicious applications, privacy risks and potentially intrusive behavior. After analyzing the official Facebook application among others, this tool has found some surprises.
Symantec itself has warned about a privacy problem of the same, according to which said application the first time we start it, even without having entered the username and password yet, it sends our phone number to the Facebook servers. All this in an imperceptible way for the user.
This problem affects a large part of the hundreds of thousands of phones that have installed this application. They have not given more information about which ones in particular are affected, but Symantec does indicate that it has contacted Facebook and that it has assured that it will investigate the problem and will solve it in future updates.
According to Mark Zuckerberg's company, far from denying it, it indicates that in no time has been used said telephone numbers and that they have already deleted them from their servers. Do we believe it?
More information - The dilemma of fake antivirus on Android
Source - Symantec
That is a problem if it is true
I'm glad I deleted that application without thinking twice
That doesn't mean they no longer have your number if they did at some point. Facebook stores your profile even if you delete the application or even if you delete the account. The data is yours, not yours.
Since WhatsApp came out, it is something that one intuits what happens with any application that wants to do it.