Facebook scans things you send on Messenger, Mark Zuckerberg admits

The billionaire CEO revealed the news during a podcast interview

Facebook Messenger scans all messages (Stock)

Facebook scans pictures and links sent on its Messenger app to ensure they abide by company guidelines, it has been revealed, and any messages that are not in line with Facebook’s community standards are blocked.

The new information comes on the heels of the Cambridge Analytica data leak, which had already raised questions over privacy concerns and personal information safety on the social media platform.

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg confirmed the existence of the well-intentioned policy during a podcast interview with Vox’s editor, Ezra Klein.

During the interview, Zuckerberg recalled how he’d received a phone call from staff at his Mountain View firm to inform him that their systems had blocked attempts to send Messenger messages about ethnic cleansing in Myanmar.

According to Zuckerberg, the sensational messages were detected by Facebook systems and blocked.

“In that case, our systems detect what’s going on. We stop those messages from going through,” the 33-year old revealed.

Despite its good intentions, the previously unknown existence of the Messenger scans have been met with concern on social media - where Facebook users are still reeling from the social media giant’s previous data breaches.

However, Facebook told Bloomberg that the Messenger scans are the same tools used across the entire platform to prevent abuse and to ensure content abides by "community standards," and that they are not scanning messages for the purpose of targeted advertising or other purposes.

But some Messenger users aren’t convinced. On Twitter, one person questioned the validity of Facebook’s claims, tweeting: “I talked about ice cream in a Facebook Messenger chat and now see an ad on Twitter for ice cream. Our privacy has been invaded for years already and used to sell products.”

In a statement, a Facebook Messenger spokesperson said: “For example, on Messenger, when you send a photo, our automated systems scan it using photo matching technology to detect known child exploitation imagery or when you send a link, we scan it for malware or viruses.

“Facebook designed these automated tools so we can rapidly stop abusive behaviour on our platform.”

Currently, flagging posts or messages that users feel violate Facebook’s guidelines results in either a manual review of the content or an automated review capable of deciding.

The news also comes after it was revealed that Facebook has collected years of data on the call and text history of Android users.

“So if you’re concerned about privacy in the slightest, it’s best to abandon Facebook Messenger outright. Okay then, got it,” one user tweeted in response.