Nagpur: A misleading message claiming that Facebook will soon implement a new policy allowing the company to use users’ personal data—including names, photos, videos, and mobile numbers—without consent has gone viral on the platform. The rumour has triggered a wave of panic, with lakhs of users in the past 24 hours posting disclaimers stating that their data must not be used.

Cyber experts from Nagpur Police clarified that the viral message is completely false and has no factual basis. Such rumours, they said, have been circulating since 2020–21 and have also gone viral in other countries. “There is no such policy under consideration. This is merely an attempt to spread confusion,” the experts explained.

They further added that these posts have been appearing for years and are nothing more than sign-up related myths. When a user creates a Facebook account, they agree to the platform’s terms and conditions at that time—there’s no sudden rule change like this.

Similar Panic in Nagpur:

In Nagpur, several Facebook users also fell prey to the same hoax, hurriedly posting the so-called disclaimer on their timelines. Police have advised social media users to verify any policy-related claims from official sources before sharing them, warning that such misinformation fuels unnecessary fear and may be exploited by scammers.