Facebook to cut down on collection of call logs, SMS and contacts from Android smartphones

Facebook looks to be scaling back on its user data collection as the company reels from the aftermath of the Cambridge Analytica data scandal. The social media giant is now looking to cut down on its collection of call and SMS records from Android smartphones.

That Facebook has been collecting phone records for many years was revealed last month via several Twitter users who claimed that Facebook had kept records of their entire call logs since the last year or so. In Facebook's defence, the company has been requesting access to contacts, SMS data, and call history for its 'opt-in feature', which provides friend recommendations based on the data collected.

Now it would seem that Facebook is making changes to this data collection practice. Facebook’s chief technology officer, Mike Schroepfer, said in a blog post that, “We’ve reviewed this feature to confirm that Facebook does not collect the content of messages — and will delete all logs older than one year. In the future, the client will only upload to our servers the information needed to offer this feature,”.

This seems to be a welcome change for Facebook users as, as per a report by The Verge, it was never quite clear why Facebook needed call details dating more than three years back. Apple devices are secure in this respect as iOS doesn't allow any app to access call logs and SMS data.

But Facebook's problems are far from over. The social media has now said that the earlier figure of 50 million users who had their data compromised could rise to as much as 87 million.

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg has said that he will be testifying in front of a congressional committee over the social media's use of user data.