privacy settings Tag

Facebook Changing Privacy Settings

With recent developments in Internet privacy news, one would expect social networks to be getting stricter with privacy settings. Facebook’s most recent announcements, however, prove that this is simply not the case: in fact, the social network appears to actually be reducing its privacy settings. It was announced last Thursday that Facebook would be removing the privacy setting that allowed users to hide themselves from other users in Facebook’s search field.

The primary reason that Facebook has stated they have made this specific alteration to the privacy settings was that the tool was outdated and it only made things more difficult for Facebook users who were trying to find their friends over the social network. The other likely reason is due to Facebook’s recent Graph Search addition, which is intended to make it easier to find people on Facebook. With Graph Search and the removal of this privacy feature, it will be easier than ever to connect with others via Facebook.

Another way that Facebook is altering privacy settings is in its relaxation of privacy rules for teenagers. 13 to 17 year olds who use Facebook are now able to share their photos, comments, and updates with the public. They can also now turn on the ‘Follow’ feature that adults have been able to use for quite some time now, which allows people who they are not friends with the see that person’s public posts in their own News Feed.

Oddly enough, Facebook also has announced that teenagers’ default share setting will no longer be ‘Friends of Friends’ and will instead just be ‘Friends.’ This means that posts made by teenagers will — by default, anyway — actually be harder for others to see unless the teenaged Facebook user has other wishes. Essentially, Facebook-using teenagers have the ability to share with more people than ever before, but their default settings will reduce that ability unless they choose otherwise.

Facebook Expounds Privacy Policy Changes

It took all of two days for Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg to make good on his promise of simplifying Facebook’s privacy settings. Unlike many companies who have come under public scrutiny as of late—BP, Goldman Sachs and Toyota, just to name a few—Facebook moved quickly and decisively to address the concerns of their constituency. The new settings were unveiled at a presentation held today at the company’s headquarters and will provide users with what the company had originally intended: a straightforward, user-friendly means for Facebook members to control the dissemination of their personal information. The changes will take a couple of weeks to be implemented, but here is a brief overview of what you can expect:

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Facebook CEO Addresses Privacy Concerns

Last week we reported on the public outcry following changes to Facebook’s privacy policy, and as they have been in the past, Facebook was quick to address the issue. After Congress sent a letter to the company in response to numerous complaints, Facebook executives met last week to begin discussing the issue. Following a report from the Wall Street Journal, which expounded loopholes in the company’s privacy policy, Facebook announced it would be making changes to the privacy policy and settings in the near future. In addition, in today’s op-ed section of the Washington Post, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg answered many questions concerning the site’s privacy policies and settings.

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Facebook Coming To A Website Near You

The social in social media and social network is about to become even more social. On Wednesday, Facebook announced they will be reaching out to other sites around the world in order to bring the web together. What does that exactly mean and how will it impact everyone’s Internet experience? Let’s explore this notion.

Most avid Facebook users are familiar with the “Like” button, which usually shows that they’re interested in a friend’s status updates, photos or links. According to Facebook, the average user clicks “Like” on at least nine pieces of content each month. (more…)

Facebook Simplifies Privacy Settings

If you haven’t already noticed, the next time you log onto Facebook, you will most likely be prompted with an “Important message from Facebook.”  The message contains information about Facebook’s new privacy settings. This should come as no surprise since CEO Mark Zuckenberg told users last week that changes were coming, and yesterday the company set up Facebook’s Safety Board.

“Developing privacy controls that work for 350 million people who all use the site in unique ways is a difficult challenge,” said Ruchi Sanghvi in a Facebook blog post this morning. “We’ve put a lot of work into today’s new features, using your suggestions to guide us, and we’re proud of what we’ve accomplished.  However, we’re by no means done, and we look forward to your feedback, which will help us develop the next innovation in user control.” (more…)