Thursday, June 3, 2010

New Facebook privacy settings rolling in


So after all the fuss and furor over Facebook's privacy policies, the new privacy controls are rolling into users' Facebook pages. The alert hit my Facebook page yesterday, letting me know I had access to the new controls, and I finally got around to checking them out today.

My first impression? More of the controls have indeed been more conveniently grouped on a short series of screens, just as Facebook promised. But when you get right down to clicking through them, they didn't feel much different in substance from the old options. I also couldn't help but notice that Facebook's recommended settings, which would allow "everyone" to see my status updates, photos, posts, bio and family and relationships information, were a lot more public than the ones I'd previously customized. (I'd locked down everything except "bio and favorite quotations" so that only my friends could see).

Still, having all the information laid out in a more easily digestible format made me a little more comfortable with sharing, so I left the "instant personalization" feature on. (I'm nosy, I guess. I wouldn't mind seeing what my friends are finding interesting on sites I tend to visit).

I think because I labored through the old settings to customize them, perhaps that left me with less "new" to do when the new ones hit. And for whatever it's worth, I think Mark Zuckerberg's right -- people will share more eventually. But only if it's their choice, and only if they feel they're being dealt with honestly.

Have the new settings showed up on your page yet? Do they make you feel any more secure about what you're sharing and what people can see?

13 comments:

Anonymous said...

Mine showed up about a week ago. Only friends can see everything, as that is why I registered for Facebook in the first place. I didn't sign up to farm or be a Soprano. It's designed to easily keep in contact and share photos, etc, with those you know and it should be nothing more than that.

Anonymous said...

Oh but how wrong and misguided you are! FB is used for MUCH more than that and that's why it is a risk and threat to many. There are predators, stalkers, liars, and sexual deviants on there that use Facebook as a way to meet up with people for sex and the like. Anything you put on there is considered available to the public - period. No controls will change the facts. Get a life and go meet people face to face. Facebook has and will continue to ruin many lives.

Unknown said...

Ruin lives? A little over dramatic there, don't you think?

Anonymous said...

Um, Negative. I do mean ruin lives, literally. There's nothing 'dramatic' about people losing jobs, marriages, and ultimately their lives over an internet site because of these things. I trust people do realize this does happen and it goes on much more than most realize.

Anonymous said...

If lives are ruined, it's due to the ignorance of the user and the fact they believe they can say or do anything they want there. As for stalkers, liars, etc...don't add people you don't know. Your actions reap your own benefits / problems...become educated about the media you're using and don't blame the site for stupidity on your own part...nuff said.

Anonymous said...

I agree with what was said above and personally know people who have been devastated because of incidents through Facebook. As to the person saying 'nuff said', I would say they are partially right, but unfortunately Facebook provides the facilitation needed for these individuals to lurk and cause their trouble. It could be said the users are to blame for not being cautious enough, but it is still the fault of Facebook to a certain extent because ultimately they do provide the venue for all of this to take place. You will never be able to convince people not to share every aspect of their lives, even though they don't seem to give a damn about the consequences. Believe it or not, it's just fine out here in the real world without having to depend on a Facebook addiction. An addiction to an internet site that coudl ultimately cause more trouble than you know, even if you're careful. Now that's what I would call stupidity. Now, 'nuff said'.

Anonymous said...

Interesting posts here. I'm in the process now of determining whether my children will be allowed to use Facebook. It's not them I'm worried about as much as the other scary people out there who obviously don't use the site for it's original purpose.

Our neighbors teens have been caught doing some pretty disgusting stuff on Facebook, so that's kind of ruined it for us too. For every positive I've heard, there are just as many negatives.

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