About 14 million Facebook users had detailed personal information stolen, including search history and places visited
Facebook has just provided a sobering update on exactly how much information hackers stole during its recent data beach. Spoiler alert: It's a lot.
First, though, there is some mildly good news: Facebook says 29 million accounts were affected in the data breach they disclosed two weeks ago, down from the 50 million accounts they feared had been hit. But the good news stops there, as 14 million of those users had a substantial amount of personal information accessed: their name, phone number, email address, gender, locale/language, relationship status, religion, hometown, current city, birthdate, education, work, website, people and pages followed, and the devices they use to go on Facebook. Worst of all, though, Facebook says the hackers were also able to access these users' 15 most recent Facebook searches, as well as the last 10 physical locations they checked into or were tagged in.
An additional 15 million accounts had just their name and contact information accessed (either their phone number, email address, or both depending on what was listed on the account).
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Facebook says it's now working with the FBI on an investigation into this data breach and that the bureau asked them not to talk about who may have been responsible. If you want to find out whether your account was affected, and whether you're one of the 14 million, you can visit Facebook's Help Center.
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Brendan worked as a culture writer at The Week from 2018 to 2023, covering the entertainment industry, including film reviews, television recaps, awards season, the box office, major movie franchises and Hollywood gossip. He has written about film and television for outlets including Bloody Disgusting, Showbiz Cheat Sheet, Heavy and The Celebrity Cafe.
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