• This tool was ideally designed for an audience that does not use Facebook or Instagram as well as anyone with an account that wishes to remove their phone number or email address from Meta’s database.
• Facebook and Instagram usually allow users to sync contacts with their services from their phones.
Image: REUTERS
Facebook, through its parent company Meta, has a new tool that allows a user to remove their contact information
This includes phone numbers and email addresses that were uploaded by others.
As reported by Business Insider, this tool has been available since May 2022.
Some of the users' data continue to be stored on Facebook’s database even after they delete their accounts.
One’s contact details may stick around or may even be uploaded when someone else syncs their contacts to Meta’s platforms.
“Someone may have uploaded their address book to Facebook, Messenger, or Instagram with your contact information in it. You can ask us to confirm whether we have your phone number or email address,” Facebook said.
Meta said that it needs a copy of the phone number or email address to be added to a block list maintained in the company in order to prevent it from being re-uploaded.
Either way, Meta may still end up having the contact information of the users who are looking to get them removed from the platform in the first place.
This tool is, however, hidden in Facebook’s help section for non-users.
The linked text gives no indication that it’s sending you to a privacy tool.
“Click here if you have a question about the rights you may have,” it reads.
Here’s how you can find the tool via the Facebook platform.
1. First log in to your Facebook account.
2. Navigate to the far right corner where you will see three lines. Click on them.
3. While on this page click on “Help and support" then click "Help Centre”
4. Once on this page, on the search bar, type “Nonusers”
5. Scroll to the section “Information for people who don’t use Meta products” and click on it
6. Scroll down the page up to the section titled “How non-users can exercise their rights.”
7. At the very bottom there is a line that reads “ Click here if you have any questions about the rights you may have.”
Interestingly, this line does not mention anything about the tool.
8. Once you click on the highlighted "click here" link, you will be directed to the contact info removal tool.
This tool was ideally designed for an audience that does not use Facebook or Instagram as well as anyone with an account that wishes to remove their phone number or email address from Meta’s database.
Facebook and Instagram usually allow users to sync contacts with their services from their phones.
By doing so, the contacts have not however consented to upload your phone number or email address to the database.
9. Once you are on the removal tool page, Meta explains that even though you may not have signed to any core Meta platform, it may still have information on you.
To find out if Meta’s database has your phone number or email address, select the one you want to search for and click “Next.”
10. Here you will need to enter the email address or phone number you want to search for.
11. Specify if Meta should search for it on Facebook, Messenger, Instagram, or all of them. Click “Next”
12. If someone has synced their contacts on Facebook or Instagram and your information is in the database, Meta will notify you on this page.
13. Click “Confirm” if you wish Meta to delete your contact information from their database and block it so that it cannot be re-uploaded.
14. You will be sent an OTP code via the email address or phone number you entered. Once received, enter the code and click “Next” to delete your contact information.
15. Once Meta removes your information from its database, you will receive a message confirming that the request was successful.
And just like that, your information is deleted from Meta’s database.
However, if you change your phone number or email address, you may need to repeat this process because someone else might have synced their contacts on Meta services again.
Facebook has not, however, come out publicly to say anything or promote this tool.