Tinder users have been left frustrated after many were unable to log into the dating app because of changes to how Facebook links with the service.

Yesterday Facebook announced a tightening of access to data for third-party apps, and confirmed that these changes triggered the lockout on Tinder, where users can sign in using their Facebook account.

The dating app can be linked with Facebook to see mutual friends shared with potential matches as well as use Facebook photos on a Tinder profile.

On attempting to log in, many were presented with a message labelled ‘Facebook Permissions’.

It said: ‘Tinder requires you provide additional Facebook permissions in order to create or use a Tinder account.

‘This information is used to create fuller profiles, verify authenticity and provide support.’

Following the on-screen prompts failed to fix the issue, and many took to social media to voice their complaints.

Twitter user Daniel Sinclair said: ‘Facebook’s API changes just broke Tinder. It throws you into an endless login loop. Bravo to Facebook for being considerate of their only valuable product.’

In response, the app’s official Twitter account confirmed the problem with the message: ‘A technical issue is preventing users from logging into Tinder. We apologise for the inconvenience and are working to have everyone swiping again soon.’

About three hours later Tinder confirmed the issue had been resolved. The dating app has not commented further on the incident.

Other dating apps that also use Facebook appeared to be unaffected.</s>Facebook Will Notify 87M Users Whose Data May Have Been Used By Cambridge Analytica

NPR's Steve Inskeep spoke with Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg about the company's responsibility to safeguard users' data, in light of the Cambridge Analytica scandal. More of the interview airs Friday on Morning Edition.</s>The latest news is Facebook's data breach was from 87 million users. Initially it was reported that the user data collected was just from 50 million users.

The Facebook data scandal has taken a turn. After media reports confirmed the data leak, Facebook confirmed on Wednesday that information from 87 million users may have been compromised by the political consultancy Cambridge Analytica.

The data breach was initially reported to be 50 million. According to Reuters, Facebook acknowledged it was 87 million users, which is an increase of 37 million user accounts whose data was utilized by the data firm.

On March 14, the world’s largest social network had suspended Cambridge Analytica from its platform. In addition, the data had been initially used by a psychology professor for a personality quiz app. That data designed for research purposes was later passed on to the data firm.

In the news release above, Facebook confirmed they are taking the necessary steps to restrict the data to just third-party app developers. The social and tech giant has been facing mounting scrutiny from regulators in the U.S and in the U.K. An investigation by British lawmakers has begun.

The news of the data breach has not just prompted lawmakers to look into the company’s handling of data. It has also affected the company’s financials. As reported by the New York Times, stock prices have plummeted and Facebook has lost $100 billion in market capitalization.

Almost a month earlier, the company did publicly admit there was unauthorized access to millions of accounts of Facebook users. Furthermore, the data firm based in the UK had access to user information.

With lawmakers raising concerns about the data breach, Facebook’s CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, will testify soon. In a report, Zuckerberg has agreed to testify before a House Panel on April 11 to discuss the issue of the data scandal.

The interrogation will be headed by Rep. Greg Walden, who is the chair of the committee. Assisting Walden will be ranking member Frank Pallone Jr. who will be facilitating more insight for Americans to understand what exactly happened with the information obtained from Facebook users.

Facebook shares were down 1.4 percent and stock prices ended at $153.90. The hearing is bound to reveal more insight about how the information from 87 million users was used.</s>Facebook Will Notify 87M Users Whose Data May Have Been Used By Cambridge Analytica

NPR's Steve Inskeep spoke with Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg about the company's responsibility to safeguard users' data, in light of the Cambridge Analytica scandal. More of the interview airs Friday on Morning Edition.</s>Facebook estimates that the data of no less than 87 million people was obtained by Cambridge Analytica in what's become quite the scandal. But now it has gone to another level. Tinder has been taken from us. Kind of.

In an attempt to prevent another Analytica-gate, Facebook on Wednesday implemented new measures to regulate the data third-party apps can use and access. Hours later, lonely hearts the world round were reporting they could no longer log in to Tinder.

To get an account on the app, prospective users need to either log in with their phone number or their Facebook account. Given the latter is quicker and allows instant access to a library of photos, which are then used to create your profile, that's the one most people go for.

But users on Wednesday were stuck in purgatory, with the app failing to transition from Facebook authentication to Tinder swiping.

"A technical issue is preventing users from logging into Tinder. We apologize for the inconvenience and are working to have everyone swiping again soon," the company said on Twitter. The problem, Tinder says, has since been fixed.

Tinder is only one of many dating apps which use Facebook for authentication, but none of the other apps, like Bumble, were reported to have experienced the same problem.

The root of the issue is the improper sharing of Facebook data with Trump-aligned consultancy firm Cambridge Analytica. The Cambridge Analytica scandal, which CEO Mark Zuckerberg has called a "breach of trust," has raised questions about Facebook's handling of user data and whether the company is doing enough to protect it. It was first estimated that the data of 50 million people was improperly accessed -- but now that number is up to 87 million.</s>(AP) - Facebook's acknowledgement that most of its 2.2 billion members have probably had their personal data scraped by "malicious actors" is the latest example of the social network's failure to protect its users' data.

 

CEO Mark Zuckerberg told reporters Wednesday that Facebook is shutting down the ability to search for Facebook users by phone number or email address.

 

It turns out unscrupulous types figured out that they could use the search feature to collect information from people's profiles.

 

Zuckerberg said that most Facebook users have probably had their information stolen this way.

 

It was a stunning admission for a company already reeling from allegations that the political consulting firm Cambridge Analytica misappropriated Facebook user information for political purposes.</s>NEW YORK (AP) — Facebook’s acknowledgement that most of its 2.2 billion members have probably had their personal data scraped by “malicious actors” is the latest example of the social network’s failure to protect its users’ data.

CEO Mark Zuckerberg told reporters Wednesday that Facebook is shutting down the ability to search for Facebook users by phone number or email address.

It turns out unscrupulous types figured out that they could use the search feature to collect information from people’s profiles.

Zuckerberg said that most Facebook users have probably had their information stolen this way.

It was a stunning admission for a company already reeling from allegations that the political consulting firm Cambridge Analytica misappropriated Facebook user information for political purposes.</s>April 5 (UPI) -- Australia said Thursday it's investigating Facebook over the site's selling user data to research firm Cambridge Analytica.

The investigation will look into whether Facebook breached Australian privacy laws and whether it "adequately notified" users their information had been sold, the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner said Thursday.

"I have opened a formal investigation into Facebook, following confirmation from Facebook that the information of over 300,000 Australian users may have been acquired and used without authorization,"Australian commissioner Angelene Falk said.

"Given the global nature of this matter, the OAIC will confer with regulatory authorities internationally."

Facebook said Wednesday the information of as many as 87 million people may have been improperly shared with the British research firm.

Cambridge Analytica is accused of using some of the information to post targeted political ads for President Donald Trump.

"We do not know precisely what data the app shared with Cambridge Analytica or exactly how many people were impacted," Facebook said in a blog post.

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg is set to testify in the House next week to answer questions about data security.

Zuckerberg will testify April 11 -- and, incidentally, will face questioning from lawmakers who in the past received substantial campaign contributions from Facebook sources. The House Energy and Commerce Committee, which will question Zuckerberg, received the largest contributions, USA Today reported.

Since 2007, members of the committee -- whose jurisdiction gives it regulatory power over Internet companies -- received nearly $381,000 in contributions tied to Facebook.

Amid the privacy scandal, Zuckerberg said Wednesday that mistakes are inevitable when running a company as large as Facebook.

"What I think people should hold us accountable for is if we are learning from our mistakes," he said.</s>Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption How the Facebook-Cambridge Analytica data scandal unfolded

Facebook believes the data of up to 87 million people was improperly shared with the political consultancy Cambridge Analytica - many more than previously disclosed.

The BBC has been told that about 1.1 million of them are UK-based.

The overall figure had been previously quoted as being 50 million by the whistleblower Christopher Wylie.

Facebook chief Mark Zuckerberg said "clearly we should have done more, and we will going forward".

During a press conference he said that he had previously assumed that if Facebook gave people tools, it was largely their responsibility to decide how to use them.

But he added that it was "wrong in retrospect" to have had such a limited view.

Image copyright Getty Images Image caption Mark Zuckerberg answered questions from the press for nearly an hour

"Today, given what we know... I think we understand that we need to take a broader view of our responsibility," he said.

"That we're not just building tools, but that we need to take full responsibility for the outcomes of how people use those tools as well."

Mr Zuckerberg also announced an internal audit had uncovered a fresh problem. Malicious actors had been abusing a feature that let users search for one another by typing in email addresses or phone numbers into Facebook's search box.

As a result, many people's public profile information had been "scraped" and matched to the contact details, which had been obtained from elsewhere.

Facebook has now blocked the facility.

"It is reasonable to expect that if you had that [default] setting turned on, that in the last several years someone has probably accessed your public information in this way," Mr Zuckerberg said.

New numbers

The estimates of how many people's data had been exposed were revealed in a blog by the tech firm's chief technology officer, Mike Schroepfer.

The BBC has also learned that Facebook now estimates that about 305,000 people had installed the This Is Your Digital Life quiz that had made the data-harvesting possible. The previously suggested figure had been 270,000.

About 97% of the installations occurred within the US. However, just over 16 million of the total number of users affected are thought to be from other countries.

A spokeswoman for the UK's Information Commissioner's Office told the BBC that it was continuing to assess and consider the evidence before deciding what steps to take.

What is the controversy about?

Facebook has faced intense criticism after it emerged that it had known for years that Cambridge Analytica had collected data from millions of its users, but had relied on the London-based firm to self-certify that it had deleted the information.

Cambridge Analytica said it had bought the information from the creator of the This Is Your Digital Life app without knowing that it had been obtained improperly.

The firm says it deleted all the data as soon as it was made aware of the circumstances.

But Channel 4 News has since reported that at least some of the data in question is still in circulation despite Cambridge Analytica insisting it had destroyed the material.

During Mr Zuckerberg's press conference, Cambridge Analytica tweeted it had only obtained data for 30 million individuals - not 87 million - from the app's creator, and again insisted it had deleted all records.

The latest revelations came several hours after the US House Commerce Committee announced that Facebook's founder, Mark Zuckerberg, would testify before it on 11 April.

Facebook's share price has dropped sharply in the weeks since the allegations emerged.

Wide-ranging changes

In his Wednesday blog post, Mr Schroepfer detailed new steps being taken by Facebook in the wake of the scandal.

They include:

a decision to stop third-party apps seeing who is on the guest lists of Events pages and the contents of messages posted on them

a commitment to only hold call and text history logs collected by the Android versions of Messenger and Facebook Lite for a year. In addition, Facebook said the logs would no longer include the time of the calls

a link will appear at the top of users' News Feeds next week, prompting them to review the third-party apps they use on Facebook and what information is shared as a consequence

Image copyright Facebook Image caption An alert will remind users they can remove any apps they no longer want to access their data

Facebook has also published proposed new versions of its terms of service and data use policy.

The documents are longer than the existing editions in order to make the language clearer and more descriptive.

Tinder users affected

Another change the company announced involved limiting the type of information that can be accessed by third-party applications.

Immediately after the changes were announced, however, users of the widely popular dating app Tinder were hit by login errors, leaving them unable to use the service.

Tinder relies on Facebook to manage its logins. Users reported that they had been signed out of the app and were unable to log in again.

Instead, the app repeatedly asks for more permissions to access a user's Facebook profile information. Many were quick to link the outage to the changes announced by Facebook.

Fake news

The Cambridge Analytica scandal follows earlier controversies about "fake news" and evidence that Russia tried to influence US voters via Facebook.

Mr Zuckerberg has declined to answer questions from British MPs.

Image copyright Getty Images Image caption Mr Zuckerberg now regrets saying it was a "pretty crazy idea" that fake news on Facebook could have helped Donald Trump become president

When asked about this by the BBC, he said he had decided that his chief technology officer and chief product officer should answer questions from countries other than the US.

He added, however, that he had made a mistake in 2016 by dismissing the notion that fake news had influenced the US Presidential election.

"People will analyse the actual impact of this for a long time to come," he added.

"But what I think is clear at this point is that it was too flippant and I should never have referred to it as crazy."</s>Facebook’s collection of data has come under increased scrutiny in recent weeks after information on millions of users was leaked by a third party.

READ MORE: Should we be deleting Facebook? Or is it too late?

Here we look at what information Facebook hold and how to find your Facebook data.

Information held by Facebook (either simply in your account or in data collected) includes:
• Information you added to the About section of your Timeline - like relationships, work, education, where you live and more. It includes any updates or changes you made in the past.
• All stored active sessions, including Date, time, device, IP address, machine cookie and browser information.
• Dates, times and titles of ads clicked (limited retention period).
• Current address or any past addresses you had on your account.
• Any alternate names you have on your account (ex: a maiden name or a nickname).
• All of the apps you have added
• How your birthday appears on your Timeline.
• History of the conversations you’ve had on Facebook Chat.
• Connections: The people who have liked your Page or Place, RSVPed to your event, installed your app or checked in to your advertised place.
• Credit Cards: If you make purchases on Facebook and have given Facebook your credit card number.
• Your preferred currency on Facebook
• The city you added to the About section of your Timeline.
• Date of Birth
• Deleted Friends
• Education
• Email addresses added to your account (even those you may have removed).
• Events you’ve joined or been invited to.
• Facial Recognition Data: unique number based on a comparison of the photos you’re tagged in. Data is used to help others tag you in photos.
• Family
• Favourite Quotes
• A list of people you follow.
• Pending sent and received friend requests n. A list of your friends.
• Gender
• Groups
• Any friends, apps or pages you’ve hidden from your News Feed.
• Hometown
• IP Addresses where you’ve logged into your Facebook account (won’t include all historical IP addresses as they are deleted according to a retention schedule).
• Last Location
• Likes on Others posts
• Likes on Your Posts from others
• Likes on Other Sites
• Linked Accounts
• Locale; The language you’ve selected to use Facebook in
• Logins & logouts: IP address, date and time associated with logins / logouts to your Facebook account.
• Contact information that may be associated with your account
• Messages you’ve sent and received on Facebook unless deleted
• Name and name changes
• Networks (affiliations with schools or workplaces) that you belong to on Facebook.
• Any notes you’ve written and published to your account.
• Notification Settings
• Pages You Admin
• Pending Friend Requests
• Mobile phone numbers you’ve added to your account, including verified mobile numbers you’ve added for security purposes.
• Photos you’ve uploaded to your account ubcluding metadata
• Badges you’ve added to your account.
• Pokes:A list of who’s poked you and who you’ve poked.
• Political Views
• Posts by You
• Posts by Others
• Privacy Settings
• The date you joined Facebook.
• Religious Views.
• Searches you’ve made on Facebook.
• Content (ex: a news article) you’ve shared with others on Facebook using the Share button or link.
• Spoken Languages
• Status Updates
• Work
• Your Facebook URL (ex: username or vanity for your account).
• Videos

How to find out what Facebook knows: (easier on a computer screen than phone)

Do the following:

 1) Log in Facebook and go to SETTINGS

 2) Go to GENERAL ACCOUNT SETTINGS

 3) Scroll to bottom and click DOWNLOAD A COPY OF YOUR FACEBOOK DATA

 4) You will be asked for your password and the information will download to your desktop in a Zip format. (note: If it doesn’t appear try again)

Since 2016, Google has allowed every user to see what they have collected on you via a website called MY ACTIVITY.

You will have to sign into your Google account, then you can look at Bundle View of everything you have shown an interest in, videos you have watched on Youtube, websites you have visited, etc.

There is an Item view and you can also delete activity.
Facebook increases its estimate of the number of affected users to 87 million.