( Mashable ) -- Rumors of a Facebook bug has users from all over the world worried about private messages showing up very publicly on Timeline pages . But the social network is debunking those claims , saying these messages are actually just older wall posts . A series of reports coming out of France â€ ” including ones from Metro France and Le Nouvel Observateur â€ ” claim that Facebook members who sent private messages over the past few years have been popping up on public posts . Some members in the U.S. have said their private messages from 2007 and 2008 are showing up on their Timeline , but Facebook told Mashable that the company has n't found a bug and believes the discrepancy comes from a wider roll out of the newer Timeline layout on a global scale . Facebook says that if you can comment or Like that activity , then it is a wall post and not a private message . In the past , users were n't able to comment and Like posts , so Facebook believes members new to Timeline are confusing old posts for private messages . SEE ALSO : 50 % of Consumers Value a Brand 's Facebook Page More Than Its Website [ INFOGRAPHIC ] . `` A small number of users raised concerns after what they mistakenly believed to be private messages appeared on their Timeline , '' Fred Wolens of Facebook Policy Communications said in a statement . `` Our engineers investigated these reports and found that the messages were older wall posts that had always been visible on the users ' profile pages . Facebook is satisfied that there has been no breach of user privacy . '' UPDATE : When asked if such a bug were possible , Wolens responded : `` While not quite a technical impossibility , these systems are run on two separate backends which would require a non-trivial amount of work for this bug to be real . '' We have been unable to confirm any case where private information has been leaked . For those worried that they may be subject to a bug , users can set all wall posts to only friends or just to themselves , and also hide the activity . © 2013 MASHABLE.com . All rights reserved .
Some users say old private Facebook messages are appearing on their Timelines . Facebook : these messages are actually just older wall posts . Social network says two separate systems make such a bug unlikely .