Meta has apologized for a glitch that Facebook users said sent automatic friend requests to any profile they viewed.
“We fixed a bug associated with a recent app update that caused some Facebook friend requests to be sent incorrectly,” a spokesperson for Meta told The Daily Beast Friday. “We prevented this from happening and apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused.”
Many Facebook users took to social media on Friday to complain about the massive privacy breach, which some have dubbed “the end of stalking.”
“Facebook is letting your stalkers know now!” one user posted on the platform, while another called it “the funniest thing Facebook has ever done.”
Others were less thrilled about the apparent technical issue, calling it “awkward” and “embarrassing.”
Some users said Facebook sent a request to someone they were trying to block. “Surely it’s a privacy issue!” another user’s complaint.
Several Facebook users said they had deactivated their accounts.
This latest bug comes as Facebook parent company Meta is in the midst of massive layoffs, which have seen the company cut at least 13 percent of its staff, firing more than 11,000 people.
Last month, a glitch on Facebook ads overcharged customers and forced the company to temporarily halt all advertising.
In November, 2022, reported by users are seeing an increase in people commenting on celebrity pages in their feed, even if they don’t follow the commenter or the celebrities. At the time, Facebook described it as a “problem” caused by “a configuration change.”
