Up to 87 million affected by Facebook privacy scandal

Facebook says as many as 87 million people - including more than 300,000 Australians - may have had their data accessed in the Cambridge Analytica scandal.

Cambridge Analytica, a data-mining firm affiliated with US President Donald Trump's campaign, has been accused of using ill-gotten data from Facebook users to try to influence elections.

The newly-announced number of affected Facebook users is a big jump on the 50 million disclosed in published reports.

The company published a breakdown of affected users per nation.

While the majority were from the US, company figures revealed  311,127 Australians were listed as potentially having had their information "improperly shared".

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This coming Monday, all Facebook users will receive a notice on their Facebook feeds with a link to see what apps they use and what information they have shared with those apps. They'll have a chance to delete apps they no longer want.

Users who had their data shared with Cambridge Analytica will be told of that within that notice. Facebook says most of the affected users are in the US.

Facebook’s new privacy policy aims to explain the data it gathers on users more clearly — but doesn’t actually change what it collects and shares.

The company unveiled the revisions Wednesday as it faces one of its worst privacy scandals in history.

Although Facebook says the changes aren’t prompted by recent events, it’s an opportune time. CEO Mark Zuckerberg is also set to testify before Congress next week for the first time.

Among Wednesday’s changes: Facebook has added a section explaining that it collects people’s contact information, which may include call logs and text histories. The previous policy did not mention call logs or text histories. Several users were surprised to learn recently that Facebook had been collecting such data.

The leaders of a House oversight committee say Zuckerberg will testify before the panel on April 11.

In an announcement Wednesday, Representatives. Greg Walden and Frank Pallone say the hearing will focus on the Facebook’s “use and protection of user data.”

Facebook is facing scrutiny over its data collection following allegations that the political consulting firm Cambridge Analytica obtained data on tens of millions of Facebook users to try to influence elections.