News of Facebook breaching the personal data of 533 million Facebook users online which is a large percentage of the world’s population isn’t new anymore and to stay on the safe side you have to check and see if your account isn’t in any way affected.
I know you should be curious about the type of data that was released by Facebook, well, this data includes almost every detail on your account ranging from full name, birthdays, location, email, phone number, relationship status and the rest.
This personal data was released online and anyone can access it for free if they know how to.
Most of the affected users are from U.S, U.K, India and over 100 other countries. In fact, if you have a Facebook account then this is something you should be concerned about.
All 533,000,000 Facebook records were just leaked for free.
This means that if you have a Facebook account, it is extremely likely the phone number used for the account was leaked.
I have yet to see Facebook acknowledging this absolute negligence of your data. https://t.co/ysGCPZm5U3 pic.twitter.com/nM0Fu4GDY8
— Alon Gal (Under the Breach) (@UnderTheBreach) April 3, 2021
This isn’t the first time data of Facebook users have been breached, we’ve heard a similar report back in 2020 when the same number of accounts (533M) has their phone number leaked. This recent leak even makes the case worse.
How to Check if Your Phone Number was Stolen from Facebook
Firstly, let’s see how to check if your phone number was included in the leak.
- Visit the “The news Each Day” site on any browser
- Enter your phone number in the text box,
- Click check and wait some minutes
If your phone number isn’t included in the leak then you should see a message that reads, “Result: Your phone number is not in the data.”
If yours is included then it is advisable you change your Facebook password. You can also implement Two-factor authentication for more security.
How to Check if Your Email Address was Stolen from Facebook
Secondly, let’s see how to check if your phone addresses were included in the leak.
- Visit the “Have I been Pwned” website on any web browser
- Enter the email address you’re concerned about and click the “Pwned?” button.
You might likely see other sites where your email has been compromised aside from Facebook. So, simply scroll down the page and look for Facebook.
If you don’t see it then you aren’t affected by the recent leak.
However, if you find Facebook on the list or you’re concerned about the breaches on the other sites, it’s still advisable you change your password and implement two-factor authentication as soon as possible,
Privacy is quite relevant especially when it comes to websites and apps we use every day such as Facebook and Whatsapp. Whatever the case might be, make sure you’re on the look for your information and always take necessary action if you have been affected.
That’s all for now.
