Facebook bug temporarily unblocked persons from 800,000 users’ blocked lists

Facebook has corrected a bug, that temporarily unblocked users from the blocked lists of around 800,000 users

Facebook, Facebook block bug, blocked Facebook accounts, Messenger contacts, Facebook profiles, restricted access, Facebook associations, friend lists

Facebook confirmed that a bug has temporarily unblocked some users from the block lists of around 800,000 users.

Facebook confirmed that a bug has temporarily unblocked some users from the blocked lists of around 800,000 users. In a blopost, the social media platform confirmed that the bug was in effect between May 29 and June 5, and unblocked some users during the period. Claiming that the bug had been fixed, the Facebook post also suggested that users check their block list, to see if they were affected in any way.

The post explains that users who get unblocked will not be restored as a ‘friend’, but will get increased access into a person’s profile. Facebook, instead, allows these users to connect via Messenger, while a previously blocked person may also be able to spot public posts from the person.

The company states that of the accounts affected by the bug, 83 per cent only allowed one blocked contact to gain Messenger and public post privileges. Also, the bug would have let these individuals re-add friends who had blocked them from their profile.

Blocking tools are critical for victims of stalking & abuse. Even a small fail here shakes trust in Facebook, and the blog post gives no explanation of how the bug happened https://t.co/a3AH1iOmxr

— Josh Constine 📶🔥 (@JoshConstine) July 2, 2018

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Responding to Facebook’s blog, TechCrunch’s Josh Constine said in a tweet that the block bug would further shake the confidence of stalking and abuse victims who trust the platform. He also demanded that Facebook give a more detailed explanation of the flaw.

Facebook replied, by saying that blocked lists comes under ‘associations’, which are stored in pairs. The pairs are made of posts that a user likes/dislikes, and the actions that a user can take on content. The bug deleted these ‘associations’, which hit the block lists of Facebook and Messenger for some users.

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