[makomk]

I don't think that's right. They clarify this somewhat further into the article. "Facebook’s view that the device makers are not outsiders lets the partners go even further, The Times found: They can obtain data about a user’s Facebook friends, even those who have denied Facebook permission to share information with any third parties." I'm pretty sure this is a reference to the setting which disabled sharing information with Facebook apps used by friends. If I'm understanding correctly, it's more like this:

- Alice adds their email or phone number to their Facebook account. Alice sets this to be visible to friends, but not to third-party apps they use.

- Bob is friends with Alice.

- Bob's phone has access to Alice's phone/email, even though this wouldn't normally be available to third-party Facebook apps like games.

Edit: Facebook's response at https://newsroom.fb.com/news/2018/06/why-we-disagree-with-th... also clarifies this. "Contrary to claims by the New York Times, friends’ information, like photos, was only accessible on devices when people made a decision to share their information with those friends."