Facebook Privacy Vulnerability

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Today I found a Facebook privacy vulnerability affecting dates of birth. The scenario:

  • The Facebook user hides their date of birth from view
  • When today’s birthdays are viewed, those who choose to publish their year of birth have their age displayed. Those who have opted to hide their year of birth in their privacy settings do not have their age published. ( http://www.facebook.com/?sk=bd )

However…

  • When viewed via the Facebook mobile site, their age is published ( http://m.facebook.com/birthdays.php )

Obviously from this, the individual’s date of birth can be easily calculated.

UPDATE: I have of course notified Facebook of this privacy flaw.

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1 Comments

I can confirm that as of yet, this has not been resolved. Of my four Facebook friends who have Birthdays today, one has opted to hide their year of birth but I can still see their details.

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This page contains a single entry by Edward Bellamy published on October 8, 2010 9:21 PM.

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