Facebook Inc. on Wednesday said as many as 87 million people may have had their data accessed in the Cambridge Analytica scandal—an increase from the 50 million disclosed in published reports.
Cambridge Analytica, a data mining firm affiliated with US President Donald Trump’s election campaign in 2016, has been accused of using ill-gotten data from Facebook users to try to influence elections.
Next Monday, all Facebook users will receive a notice on their Facebook feeds with a link to see what apps they use and what information they have shared with those apps. They’ll have a chance to delete apps they no longer want. Users who had their data shared with Cambridge Analytica will be told of that within that notice. Facebook says most of the affected users are in the US.
Facebook is restricting the user data it allows outsiders to access as part of steps it’s taking to address the fallout from its worst privacy crisis in years. It is also restricting access that apps can get about users’ events, as well as information about groups such as member lists and content.
In addition, the company is also removing the option to search for users by entering a phone number or an email address. While this helped individuals find friends who may have a common name, Facebook says businesses that had phone or email information on customers were able to collect profile information this way.