Oops! Facebook admits to adding users to groups they left

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Helen A.S. Popkin

If you're confused over a recent email from Facebook regarding its data use policy, you're not alone.? The email ? with the subject line "Up... Read more

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Rosa Golijan , NBC News

A software glitch caused many Facebook users to find themselves members of old groups, ones they may have left a long time ago. More uncomfortably, some people were suddenly members of groups they'd even?been kicked out of. Facebook issued a statement confirming the details.

"A bug surfaced last night that caused some users to be re-added to groups that they previously belonged to," a Facebook spokesperson told NBC News. "We are working to resolve the issue now. In the meantime, we are rolling out a short-term fix for all closed groups that will make the content of those groups inaccessible to the re-added members."

At first, this bug may seem like an annoyance, leading to little more than?a pile of unwanted?notifications?? that's what we saw firsthand. However,?there could be some pretty nasty side-effects. Before Facebook issued that short-term fix, individuals who were added to closed (or "secret") groups were able to view all the non-public content in those groups as well as the current membership rosters. This could leave some sensitive posts vulnerable (though you really shouldn't be posting anything of that nature on Facebook in the first place, whether publicly or privately).

Even public groups (or closed groups which have been turned public since a user left them) can cause issues, as their membership rosters are now visible to everyone.

"I guess you now know that I belonged to a 'Flava of Love' group," Alberto Lima, a blogger for Noisecast,?wrote in a Facebook message alerting me of the glitch. "I swear I never watched the show!" Sure, Alberto. Sure.

Want more tech news?or interesting?links? You'll get plenty of both if you keep up with Rosa Golijan, the writer of this post, by following her on?Twitter, subscribing to her?Facebook?posts,?or circling her?on?Google+.

Source: http://www.nbcnews.com/technology/technolog/oops-facebook-admits-adding-users-groups-they-left-or-were-1C7312098

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