Facebook bug made 14 million users posts public | Apologizes for Facebook Glitch

A glitch in the Facebook’s software has unknowingly posted private information to the public, the company warned.

When users post to Facebook, there is a menu option that allows the user to choose who can see that post. While choosing public can allow anyone to view the post, the other options are limiting and only allow friends of the users to see their posts.

Facebook remembers what settings you chose last time and chooses it by default the next time you post something on it. But the glitch would set the default option to the public even if the user had chosen something more private.

If the user is unable to notice the change and posts it on Facebook, then the post is posted to a wider audience than the user had intended.

 The glitch affected over 14 million users between 18 May and 22 May. But it took the site until 27 may revert the error. The company has apologized for the mistake and has started notifying the users who have had their posts being affected by the bug to review their posts.

This is another embarrassing blunder for Facebook which is already under fire for sharing private data of users. This week, the company is answering questions regarding the nature of data sharing deals it had with handset makers including Huawei and ZTE

Those affected by this latest blooper will be shown a graphical notification soon, with the opportunity to go over what posts may have been posted publicly by the bug.

Facebook is facing criticism from users and privacy advocates who believe that the site’s privacy settings are confusing and can be tough to understand given the way new features roll out and the user interface changes every now and then. the new bug is unlikely to ease those fears.