A Facebook employee who allegedly used his privileges to stalk women online has been fired by the company.

The social network confirmed that the unnamed worker, who described himself as a “professional stalker”, had been fired earlier this week following an investigation.

Facebook employees have the ability to access the personal data of users, but the company says it has strict rules against workers abusing their privileges.

The episode came to light after cybersecurity expert Jackie Stokes shared what appeared to be screenshots of a Tinder conversation between the employee and another woman, in which he says the woman was “hard to find”.

Stokes added that the conversation had made the woman, who is also a software engineer, feel “extremely unsafe”.

Facebook’s chief security officer Alex Stamos confirmed the employee had been fired. “We quickly investigated this situation and immediately fired the person. It’s important that people’s information is kept secure and private when they use Facebook,” he said.