Facebook discovers bug that may have affected up to 6.8 million users

Facebook says the problem has been fixed but that it may have affected up to 1,500 apps built by 876 developers.

Facebook Inc said on Friday it has discovered a bug that may have affected up to 6.8 million people who used Facebook login to grant permission to third-party apps to access photos.

The company said in a blog that the problem has been fixed but that it may have affected up to 1,500 apps built by 876 developers.

Facebook said some third-party apps may have gained access to broader set of photos than usual for 12 days between September 13 to September 25.

The bug is the latest in a string of privacy problems the tech giant disclosed this year, including the massive Cambridge Analytica data scandal in April and a data breach of nearly 30 million accounts in October.

Facebook shares were down 1.3 percent at $143.07 in early trading on Friday. The Nasdaq composite index fell 0.9 percent.