Facebook has put off its plan to allow developers access to users' phone numbers and home addresses. The company posted an update on its Developer Blog Tuesday morning, saying that it got "useful feedback" about the decision and that it would be making changes so that it's clearer when users are about to share such sensitive info. As a result, the "feature" is being turned off until a better solution is found.

Privacy advocates got up in arms after the company announced that developers would be able to access a whole new level of personal info through its API, as long as the users gave them permission. Security firm Sophos issued a solemn warning on its blog about the move; the firm pointed out that Facebook app developers already manage to trick users into giving them access to personal data, and the situation will only get worse with real addresses and phone numbers in the mix.

Less-than-honest developers could use the data to spam users via SMS or sell their info to marketers, and could even expose them to theft or physical attacks. And even though Facebook would likely pull access to any apps that break the rules, that usually happens after the fact (like it did when Facebook discovered that some top app developers were selling other kinds of user data). If your address and phone number got misused by a developer you trusted, there would be no way to take it back.

In its latest blog post, Facebook indirectly acknowledged this possibility by noting that users could benefit from clearer notifications, but still placed the responsibility of granting permission on the user. As a result, the company doesn't exactly admit that it's backing off from the plan altogether, saying instead it's going to work on ways to make it more obvious when people authorize apps to access that information.

"Over the weekend, we got some useful feedback that we could make people more clearly aware of when they are granting access to this data," Facebook wrote. "We agree, and we are making changes to help ensure you only share this information when you intend to do so."

The reason Facebook wants to give developers access to the data in the first place is because people are increasingly using Facebook to shop or get alerts from their favorite companies. "With this change, you could, for example, easily share your address and mobile phone with a shopping site to streamline the checkout process, or sign up for up-to-the-minute alerts on special deals directly to your mobile phone," Facebook wrote.

So far, the reaction to Facebook's latest post has been generally positive, with a few developers suggesting further refinements to the permission system. Still, it's clear that Facebook won't be reversing course on its original plan, even if it is putting things off for a few weeks. If you're the paranoid type, you may still want to reexamine what personal info is accessible from your profile.