Facebook lets you know if your data was stolen by Cambridge Analytica

Facebook will likely need “a few years” to fix the problems uncovered by the revelations on the hijacking of private user data, chief executive Mark Zuckerberg said in an interview.  © KAREN BLEIER/AFP

Since Facebook has gotten entangled in a mess after some 87 million users’ information was breached courtesy of British firm Cambridge Analytica, the social media site is now trying to save face by admitting its fault in the scam.

A notification will appear at the top of your news feed whether or not your data was compromised. It will have two options: If some information was not stolen, a button will appear signifying that it is time to change your privacy settings. It also gives you the option to remove apps that you’ve shared your information with.

Meanwhile, if some data were obtained, a button will appear that says, “See How You’re Affected.” This was announced in a blog post issued last Wednesday.

Image: Screengrab from newsroom.fb.com/news/2018/04/restricting-data-access/

The blog post also shared the report of which users by country were most affected by the breach, with the Philippines ranking second with 1.175 million users. The United States showed the highest with 70.6 million.

Image: Screengrab from newsroom.fb.com/news/2018/04/restricting-data-access/

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg is expected to explain himself before the US Congress for the first time today, The Verge reported yesterday. He first apologized for the oversights of the social media platform, such as the purveying of fake news and hate speech, and the controversial interference of Russia in the 2016 US presidential elections in a prepared statement.  /ra

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