Re: I'm (not) sorry
"I have already informed my family and friends that SMS and phone communications from non-whitelisted mobile numbers will be ignored. Numbers are whitelisted only when I have extracted a commitment from its owner not to run spyware on their device - and when I trust the owner to keep their word. If they're not happy to do this, they will need to get used to calling me from a landline, or using plain, old e-mail."
It doesn't matter if you whitelist them or not. The person at the other end of the call - irrespective of whether you answer or ignore it - has your number. They're using it to call you. If it's in their mobile phone, and they're using the Facebook or Messenger app, bang, Facebook has your number - and depending on what else the caller has in their phone regarding you, they have that as well.
All you are achieving is for Facebook's data to show that these people called you, but didn't get an answer, rather than did.
As Snorlax said - that's bonkers, mental shit that takes the biscuit. And its a pointless biscuit at that.
The best you can do, until the regulators and enforcers wake up and take some proper action*, is try to limit what the likes of Facebook can collate about you - strict cookie management, different email addresses for different log-ins, and so on. They'll still garner shit about you, but won't be able to piece it all together and associate it with a single identity**.
In most cases, anyway. (Which I think I'll try to write in more detail about this coming weekend).
* I've seen elsewhere comments to the effect that they need to "nip this in the bud" - but I think we're a long way past that.
** Just for a laugh, I downloaded my own data from Facebook this morning - the file was laughably empty. I'm sure they have more data on me than what is there, but haven't been able to link it to my account.