Facebook has been under fire lately for collecting more user data than it should, and the latest controversy is that the social network stored draft videos users had long thought discarded. This issue came to light last week after a user discovered several versions of a video they never actually posted being saved by the social network. The user in question found the video upon downloading their Facebook archive, although they thought they discarded it years earlier. As it turns out, Facebook has been storing such draft videos from users, and it says that a bug is the cause of this issue.
Such videos were never posted to Facebook to begin with, which is why users never thought they’d actually be stored on the social network. Discarding a draft video typically makes one think the video is gone for good, yet in Facebook’s case, that apparently wasn’t true. The social network has apologized for inadvertently storing such videos, arguing that they weren’t deleted because of a bug that has been addressed and adding all draft content is now in the process of being purged from its servers. Facebook says it discovered the bug upon investigating reports that users found old draft videos when downloading their Facebook archive. The company generally collects a wide range of user data so that it can serve targeted advertising based on users’ interests, preferences, activity histories, and other such factors.
Facebook made waves with its data collection practices last month after it came to light that it had been collecting call and text logs from Android users. Various companies now decided to leave the platform, with some users also trying to prompt others to delete their accounts with them en masse. The videos that should have been deleted were recorded using an old Facebook feature which allowed users to record and share videos straight from their browser. This feature meant the videos were streamed to Facebook as they were recorded, even if users didn’t actually post them in the end. Amid the recent outcry over its data collection practices, Facebook vowed to implement improved systems that would allow users to better control the data they share with the social network. Facebook will also delete personal data on request and be more transparent regarding what information it stores, the company promised.