Facebook asks email passwords, denies storing

Facebook is asking users to disclose passwords to their personal email accounts in order to access the social networking platform, the media reported.

A message has been flashing on some Facebook users' log-in screen, demanding that they enter the password of the email ID they built their Facebook account on, The Daily Beast reported on Tuesday.

"To continue using Facebook, you'll need to confirm your email," the message demands, followed by a form asking for users' email password.

According to media reports, signing up for an account using this method alerts users that Facebook is "importing contacts" without asking for permission.

Although, whether or not the tool actually imports these contacts remains uncertain.

However, the social networking giant has denied claims of storing the passwords and mentioned intentions of soon putting an end to the controversial requirement.

"These passwords are not stored by Facebook," Gizmodo quoted a company spokesperson as saying.

"People can always choose instead to confirm their account with a code sent to their phone or a link sent to their email," the spokesperson said.

"We understand the password verification option isn't the best way to go about this, so we are going to stop offering it."

How widely the new measure was deployed still remains unclear.

The requirement from Facebook, which is already ill-reputed for user data and security breaches, has started making the rounds merely two weeks after Facebook admitted to have had stored around 200-600 million user-passwords in plain text which were searchable by over 20,000 Facebook employees.

--IANS

rp/mag/bg