As of today, there are nearly half a billion people on Facebook. I’ve often joined groups and events where people ask their friends to give them their phone numbers because they lost their phone. This happens often enough and is a pretty good way to get some contacts back in your new (or rental) phone. If you’ve ever joined one of these groups or events, you might be at risk of sharing your phone number with the world.
Here’s a quick way to find out if your phone number is public to anybody with an Internet connection. Go to Google and search for the following:
- site:facebook.com phone “your name”
- site:facebook.com numbers “your name”
- site:facebook.com “need numbers” “your name”
You might see the pattern here. You search Google for only pages within facebook.com, then some keyword phrase about needing people’s phone numbers sent to them, then your name; you may find a public way to get your name and phone number combination. You might not even need a Facebook account to find out this information.
I just thought I’d share this with anybody who is bothered by it. If you get an invitation to one of these groups or events, you might just want to text the person instead of posting your phone number for all to see.
Thanks for posting this. I don’t like giving my phone number out, and I hate the thought of strangers seeing my number in connection with my name. So I always just text my friend my number. It’s easier for them anyways!