A large number of apps are likely to have had access to Facebookfor more than a month after the social networking platform restricted access to this information.
According to the company, around 100 app developers are likely to have access to user data, such as names and profile pictures.
Following the uproar over the Cambridge Analytica, Facebook tightened its policies on what information developers have access to. However, several third-party developers “retained access to group member information, such as names and profile pictures related to group activity, from the Groups API for longer than we intended,” Facebook said in a blog post.
It's unclear how many Facebook users or group members may have been affected by the issue. Facebook declined to share a numerical estimate with CNN.
Facebook said in a blog post that at least 11 developers had access to user information in the past 60 days, although there was “no indication of misuse of this information.” The platform has since revoked their access to this information and will conduct audits to ensure they have deleted any data.
Facebook's response to CNN's question about whether there would be penalties for developers was this: "The issue is not that the developers did something wrong, it's with Facebook allowing access for longer than it should have allowed.".
The incident is the latest in a series of similar incidents, following Facebook’s decision to change its privacy policy and regain the trust of its users. Earlier this year, the company was fined $5 billion by the Federal Trade Commission. In September, the company said it was suspending tens of thousands of apps after an internal review.
“The new framework under our settlement with the FTC means more accountability and transparency in how we build and maintain products,” Facebook wrote in a blog post. “As we continue to work through this process, we expect to find more examples of how we can improve, either through our products or by changing our data access policy.”.
