The new Facebook -- are you concerned about your privacy?
Facebook recently announced some huge changes to how, where, and perhaps even why they operate -- and it effects every Facebook users' privacy. Short version: Facebook is "building the social web" by sharing your and your friends' information with more apps, for longer, and via more places outside Facebook than ever before and they're opting you into it by default.
If you're the footloose and privacy-free sort who lives every moment online with little or no care about who knows what about you, then this likely doesn't effect you one bit.
If you're more guarded about your privacy and the privacy of your friends and families, if you're concerned about who gets your information and where, then check out this guide to protecting your information on the new Facebook from Download Squad and get to clicking off those permissions (and no doubt cursing Facebook for not defaulting them to "OFF!" to begin with).
Facebook is obviously huge on the iPhone -- one of the most popular apps of all time -- so we're curious what you think about these changes? Do you worry about your privacy online? Do these changes make you consider scaling back or removing your Facebook presence? Or do you figure the more information about more people available, the harder it will be to find anything about anyone specific?
[via @sethclifford]
Editor-in-Chief of iMore, Executive Producer at Mobile Nations, co-host of Iterate and ZEN and TECH, cook, grappler, photon wrangler.
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First
I am not worried since I do not give real name or b-days on my pages. When u have stalkers than one uses their brains.
Meh, I don't put any info on facebook that I don't want shared. No if facebook becomes a protal to get into the rest of my computer, well that's a different story.
Now* and portal*
Only thing I really post on there is my causeworld activity
I still say, if you have ten words to type, why not do a quick spellcheck before you post??
No. Facebook surely doesn't effect my privacy. Its new policy may affect it, though. Would be so cool if Rene and co. would spend some quality time reading their text once in a while.
I'm definitely one of those people who is concerned. I don't necessarily care about friends/family knowing what I do (because I select my "friends" carefully), however, I just hate the idea of apps being allowed to use my info, pictures, etc etc.
It is concerning because the vast majority of my friends are not technically inclined so they end up publishing a large amount of info about themselves that they (maybe) shouldn't. Not to mention, do you really think half of our parents that are on Facebook would even be able to figure out how to adjust settings past the basics? No.
Facebook defaulting accounts to share excessive information is a shame, in my opinion. But I suppose people need to realize they give up all privacy when they initially create that damn account.
I opted out and disabled all the new stuff as soon as it was announced. Automatically signing everyone up for something they have to opt out from sucks. The only positive thing I can say is it's not as bad as when Google rolled out Buzz. Does anyone even use that?
Facebook is evil!
I had the FB app installed on my iPhone for one day before I removed it completely after reading about how it reads info from your iPhone contacts and updates them with info from Facebook, even if you aren't their friend.
Given Facebook's history with privacy concerns (specifically their total inability to acknowledge that there are concerns), I didn't feel comfortable with that app on my phone.
I've since opted out and disabled the stuff as much as I can, but the part that irks me is that I still feel like FB can give out my info via a friend who doesn't opt out and leaves some setting to defaults. I'm getting close to just dropping the account all together.
I hear what you're saying BSmith4832, but honestly if you're not sure of all the things you're exposing yourself to online, I think you should consider twice participating. My mom wouldn't have a clue about privacy settings or anything of the sort in FB, and so I'm of a mindset she shouldn't be on it. Example - if you don't know enough about 128-bit encryption needs when you order online using your credit card, it's probably best you don't do it, or get someone else who is to do it for you. That's my $0.02.
Once again people Facebook is own by the illuminati They want to know everything about us!!!! They are watching! Freedom is going down.
It is annoying that the default settings are to "on" so that the onus is on the user to check each app and turn it off for instant personalization.
@J1CA1 - No, but they are collecting information and could (in theory) sell it to advertisers. How far do you really think we are from Beacon users (i.e. companies that pay FB to be on the Beacon service) getting access to personal information such as mailing addresses?
So now websites I visit once for information have my address and start sending me junk mail, or possibly calling my house asking me to subscribe or whatever.
Unfortunately, the biggest problem here is that I don't have control over it. At some point in my past, a colleague from an old job could have my home phone number for work reasons, and it's still in his contacts DB today even though he has no need for it. All of a sudden - even though I have consciously put as little contact info on my FB profile as possible (just a contact email and a now-defunct school email that enabled me access to my university classmates back in the "old days") - Facebook has my info because that guy installed the iPhone app and enabled syncing.
Jeff writes: I had the FB app installed on my iPhone for one day before I removed it completely after reading about how it reads info from your iPhone contacts and updates them with info from Facebook, even if you aren’t their friend.
Me: Whaaa? I thought that feature was disabled?!? I also haven't heard from friends that that is happening, either.
Rene, thanks for the reminder of this issue. Going to the iMac to fix it right now!
I took the Facebook app off of my iPhone months ago after the debacle where it linked my Facebook friends list to my iPhone contacts list and (without asking) made modifications to my contact list. I'll be doing everything I can -- (just) short of deleting my account -- to minimize how much Facebook knows about me until I get a much clearer sense of how these changes play out.
Don't care. No meth labs or prostitution rings here.
This article immediately freaked me out since the picture uses Jeremy as the name.
I don't think that the FB app does that anymore. I do find it quite useful, otherwise.
Wow, I don't think I've ever disagreed more with anything ever on TiPB than that last line. No, more information out there makes it easier for people to find out about you.
Personally this doesn't bother me. I'm not worried at all. That said, @BSmith4832 makes a great point about all those over 50's on crackbook not knowing anything about the settings. I'm confident there will be some great scams created to trick the elderly out of their savings.
I'm more concerned about my kids. Take two minutes to read my wife's or her friends pages and you know their names, schools, friends and what they look like. Heck you also know that later that day they will be at such and such park half the time.
Exactly why I do not have any "apps" for facebook and decline all requests for all those quizzes and farms and god knows what else.
Also I have opted out of everything new they have started and have my privacy settings laid on pretty thick.
Personally, I think people are paranoid freaks.
Here's a solution for you: don't post stuff you don't want public information.
It's just like real life, people. I'll never understand how people so tech savvy as yourselves haven't figured this out by now.
The problem here is not so much what you choose to make public, (which is far too easy for the unwary to overlook) but the fact that your contacts and friends can end up leaking stuff you have no control of.
I was pretty pissed when I started getting invites to facebook just because some other person with my name in his address book chose to join.
I already had everything set the way the guide suggested. My friends and family aren't as consciences though. I posted that link up for them to peruse. Hopefully they will make the effort.
I'd have stayed exclusively with Myspace if all my friends and family hadn't left it for FB. I've disliked FB's privacy policies for years.
@Vanityeverlastngbonet
Seeing how you got banned from the forums by having such a smart mouth, I doubt you'd have any stalkers following you around anyway. Why would somebody choose to torture themselves?
Seems even the US Senate is getting involved: http://content.usatoday.com/communities/onpolitics/post/2010/04/senators-to-facebook-quit-sharing-users-info/1
Quote:
"We've asked the FTC to promulgate some rules," said Sen. Chuck Schumer. The New York Democrat said the lines between public and private are blurring as cyberspace develops, but he said of Facebook's new information sharing policy: "You know a violation when you see one and this is one of those."
I like my friends and Love my family, but the kabillion alerts what they did in farmville or yoville was just too much. You can now block this. Thank you fb
On the serious side, you do need to take the time to set fb security up. If you use your iPhone, or iPod Touch mostly for fb, you still need to check your securty settings on your pc, or mac. Remember fb is far from perfect in security, and anything you post on any social site can become public info. In your profile, never give full information about yourself, such as date of birth, family names, and where you live.
Woow u aré all paranoid. The fb privacy can't get any safer. Don't want to share? Then don't say, besides there's filters for everything! Besides that, sharing information it's the only reason for social networking. Maybe you should just go get a diary and share all to yourselves