Facebook is changing the way it stores call and text history
Logs will be deleted after a year and won’t include data like call times.
Facebook published a blog post today detailing the changes it has made to how it manages users' data. You can read a broader summary of that report here, but among the new changes is a tweak to how Facebook collects and stores call and text history. For those using Messenger or Facebook Lite on Android, an opt-in feature compiles users' call and text history, which the company says is used to help it surface the contacts you talk to most frequently. In its blog post today, Facebook said that it has reviewed the feature and can confirm that it doesn't actually collect the content of any messages. Additionally, going forward, it will delete logs older than a year and only the data required for the feature's functionality will be collected, meaning no extra data, such as call times, will be stored.
The collection of call and text history became an issue last month, when software developer Dylan McKay discovered the logs after downloading a copy of his account data. At the time, Facebook emphasized that it was an opt-in feature that users had to agree to in order for the logs to be compiled. It also said that the call and text history data were never sold. You can see how to turn off this feature here for Messenger and here for Facebook Lite.
