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O2 says sorry for sharing phone numbers on web

UK mobile operator O2 has issued an apology for a technical fault which caused some of its users’ mobile phone numbers to be disclosed to website owners when browsing the web on their smartphones.

The company said that it usually only passed numbers “when absolutely required to trusted partners” but the problem, which arose on 10 January during routine maintenance, meant that numbers could be seen by other websites.

The problem is said to have affected customers accessing the internet via their mobile phone on 3G or WAP services, but not Wi-Fi.

“Technical changes we implemented as part of routine maintenance had the unintended effect of making it possible in certain circumstances for website owners to see the mobile numbers of those browsing their site,” said O2. “In addition to the usual trusted partners, there has been the potential for disclosure of customers’ mobile phone numbers to further website owners.”

The Information Commissioner’s Office will now speak with O2 to “remind them of their data breach notification obligations, and to better understand what has happened” before a decision is made on how to proceed.

“We investigated, identified and fixed it this afternoon,” said O2. “We would like to apologise for the concern we have caused. We are in contact with the Information Commissioner’s Office, and will be co-operating fully.”

Jenni Baker, London