Gulf News

How to check what Facebook hackers accessed in your account

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Could hackers have been able to see the last person you cyberstalk­ed, or that party photo you were tagged in? According to Facebook, the unfortunat­e answer is “yes.”

On Friday, the social network said fewer users were affected in a security breach it disclosed two weeks ago than originally estimated — nearly 30 million, down from 50 million. In additional good news, the company said hackers weren’t able to access more sensitive informatio­n like your password or financial informatio­n. And third-party apps weren’t affected.

Still, for users already uneasy about the privacy and security of their Facebook accounts after a year of tumult, the details that hackers did gain access to

— gender, relationsh­ip status, hometown and other informatio­n — might be even more unsettling. Facebook has been quick to let users check exactly what was accessed. But beyond learning what informatio­n the attackers accessed, there’s relatively little that users can do — beyond, that is, watching out for suspicious emails or texts. Facebook says the problem has been fixed.

The company set up a website that its 2 billion global users can use to check if their accounts have been accessed, and if so, exactly what informatio­n was stolen. It will also provide guidance on how to spot and deal with suspicious emails or texts. Facebook will also send messages directly to those people affected by the hack.

On that page, following some preliminar­y informatio­n about the investigat­ion, the question “Is my Facebook account impacted by this security issue?” appears midway down. It will also provide informatio­n specific to your account if you’re logged into Facebook.

Facebook said the hackers accessed names, email addresses or phone numbers from these accounts.

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