According to a former Facebook employee who worked on its Messenger app, the social media giant can secretly drain users’ cell phone batteries in order to test new features or how its apps run.

Former Facebook data engineer George Hayward is suing the company for allegedly firing him over this practice after he refused to participate. According to his suit, intentionally draining batteries like this can put users in real-world danger if they’re unable to connect with others in an emergency. He says he doesn’t know how many users were affected, but that he saw an internal training document spelling out the practice that horrified him.

“I said to the manager, ‘This can harm somebody,’ and she said by harming a few we can help the greater masses,” Hayward told the New York Post. “Any data scientist worth his or her salt will know, don’t hurt people.”

“It’s clearly illegal,” added Hayward’s lawyer, Dan Kaiser. “It’s enraging that my phone, that the battery can be manipulated by anyone.”

This is an explosive allegation, and it’s one that could potentially affect every Facebook user who uses a mobile device. At the very least, Facebook will soon have to submit public answers and confess if it’s really meddling with our personal devices.

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