Facebook simplifies its privacy setting

May 27, 2010

Facing a revolt from loyal and trusting users, Facebook has simplified the privacy settings on offer.  This comes after a recent barrage of criticism from users who feel that the site has dissolved their privacy behind their backs.

The new privacy features are set to come on line in the next few week but the site has published a full explanation on the new settings.

There is no doubt that the site has grown in both popularity with more features regularly added but this is not the issue.  Facebook has employed an “opt-in” privacy scheme so any new feature is explicitly open and you as a user have to close it.

To put this into perspective, Matt McKeon has produced an interesting article on the Evolution of Privacy on Facebook.

But the expansion of services has deliberately leant toward open information because of the lucrative incentives on offer from Facebook’s partners.  Your information is worth its weight in gold.  Just type your name into Google and see what comes back.

So when these change eventually come into effect in the UK, make sure you update your settings to a level you feel comfortable.