Facebook says sorry for 'bugs' tracking users

Facebook today apologised to its members after admitting it used "bugs" to track their internet use even when they are not logged on to the site.

The social network giant confirmed it has been watching which websites its 750 million users visit, in the latest privacy blunder to dog the company.

Facebook claimed it accidentally collected data from its members after software that is automatically downloaded to their computers when they log on to Facebook continued to send information to the company after users logged off.

The data could be worth billions to create targeted ads for individuals. Technology blogger Nik Cubrilovic, from Australia, exposed the practice by conducting a year-long analysis of Facebook's use of files known as
"cookies".

When a user signs up to Facebook the software puts cookies on their computer which monitor sites visited. Mr Cubrilovic claims he informed Facebook about the issue a year ago but says there was no response from the firm until the post was widely reported across the internet.

Facebook claimed today to have fixed the cookies "potential issue" so that browser history outside the site will not be monitored.

This year Facebook stopped gathering browser data from users who had never been to the site after it was exposed by a Dutch researcher. Users have also complained that privacy settings are not stringent enough.