Facebook denied technology industry media reports that it has been logging users' call and text history without their permission, saying that the function "has always been opt-in only."

Facebook said that call and text history logging is part of an opt-in feature for people using Messenger or Facebook Lite on Android. If users no longer wish to use this feature, they can turn it off in settings, and all previously shared call and text history shared via that app is deleted, Facebook added.

Facebook introduced this feature for Android users a couple of years ago.

"Contact importers are fairly common among social apps and services as a way to more easily find the people you want to connect with," Facebook said.

When users sign up for Messenger or Facebook Lite on Android, or log into Messenger on an Android device, they are given the option to continuously upload their contacts as well as their call and text history. For Messenger, users can either turn it on, choose 'learn more' or 'not now'. On Facebook Lite, the options are to turn it on or 'skip'. If users chose to turn this feature on, Facebook will begin to continuously log this information, which can be downloaded at any time using the Download Your Information tool.

"When this feature is enabled, uploading your contacts also allows us to use information like when a call or text was made or received. This feature does not collect the content of your calls or text messages. Your information is securely stored and we do not sell this information to third parties," Facebook added.

Reports of the data collection came as Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg took out ads in multiple U.S. and British Sunday newspapers to apologize for the Cambridge Analytica scandal.

Cambridge Analytica, a Trump-affiliated political consulting firm, got data inappropriately. The company got the data from a researcher who paid 270,000 Facebook users to complete a psychological profile quiz back in 2014. But the quiz gathered information on their friends as well, bringing the total number of people affected to about 50 million.