Your Phone Number Could Be Public on Facebook

No matter how we look at it, Facebook has changed the way we live. The days of picking up the telephone just to see what's going on has been replaced by a three-word text message. From there it evolved on to the internet as a 'wall post.'

Facebook prides itself on rapidly being ahead of the curve, sometimes releasing updates to the web site before seeing the full effect on its users. Back in January, after Mark Zuckerberg and Co. tweaked the site to allow third-party Facebook apps, the change potentially made users' mailing addresses and phone numbers available to the developers. 

Recently, you may have seen the following post from one of your FB friends:

        ALL THE PHONE NUMBERS of your contacts are now on Facebook! Go to the top right of the screen, click on ACCOUNT, click   on EDIT FRIENDS, left side of screen and click CONTACTS. You will see all phone numbers from your phone (FB friends or not) are published that you have stored in your mobile phone. TO REMOVE, go to the right column, click on 'this page.' Please repost this on your status, so your friends can remove their numbers and thus prevent abuse if they do not want them published.

Users who sync their smartphone to Facebook could now have their phone numbers revealed to their friends. Even if a number isn't sunmitted by the user, there's still a chance it could be listed among other people's contact lists if the app is on the mobile device. 

Here is how to get rid of your "contact list" and remove your number from your profile.

To delete your whole contact list: 

• Click ACCOUNT (top right of screen) -> EDIT FRIENDS -> CONTACTS
• To remove, go to the right column and click on 'this page'

(You might not want to have your own phone number listed, but there really isn't a reason to delete all of your friends' numbers from your account. Aside from literally taking your phone number out of your profile, every single Facebook friend would have to delete their contact list in order for your number to permanently be gone.)

To delete your own phone number from your profile:

• Click on your profile -> "EDIT PROFILE" (button at top right of screen)-> "CONTACT INFORMATION" (bottom left).

Any phone numbers associated with your profile will show up on this screen.