Mark Zuckerberg Uses Signal Instead Of Facebook-Owned WhatsApp? CEO's Phone Number Part Of Data Leak

FB Data Leak: A security expert has revealed that Zuckerberg uses Signal app. This is a significant update as Facebook owns the popular messenger application WhatsApp.

Mark Zuckerberg (File Photo: Getty Images)

New Delhi: Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg's phone number is a part of the leaked data of the social media giant's 533 million users, a security expert has further revealed that Zuckerberg uses Signal app.

This is a significant revelation as Facebook also owns the popular messenger application WhatsApp that had also been mired in controversy over upcoming changes to its terms and privacy policy.

"In another turn of events, Mark Zuckerberg also respects his own privacy, by using a chat app that has end-to-end encryption and isn't owned by @facebook," Dave Walker, a security expert wrote on Twitter.

"This is the number associated with his account from the recent Facebook leak," Walker posted along with a screenshot of Zuckerberg's leaked phone number which mentioned, "Mark Zuckerberg is on Signal."

Recently, a hacker revealed sensitive account details and phone numbers of nearly 533 million (53.3 crore) Facebook users which constitutes a fifth of its entire user base, these include more than 61 lakh Indian users.

The leaked data includes profile names, Facebook ID numbers, email addresses, gender details, location information, job data, and more.

Alon Gal, CTO of security firm Hudson Rock, tweeted to inform about the leak: "All 533,000,000 Facebook records were just leaked for free. This means that if you have a Facebook account, it is extremely likely the phone number used for the account was leaked".

Facebook confirmed the leak to The Record, a technology news website.

"This is old data that was previously reported on in 2019. We found and fixed this issue in August 2019," a Facebook spokesperson was quoted as saying in the report late Saturday.

Signal, meanwhile, took a dig at the new revelation by tweeting, "With the May 15th WhatsApp Terms of Service acceptance deadline fast approaching, Mark leads by example".

The signal app recently became the fastest-growing app globally, including in India, both in downloads and monthly active users (MAUs) because of WhatsApp's controversial new terms of service that will come into effect from May 2021.