Facebook "privacy"
08:06, 30 April 2010
.. Posted in techculture and tech to help.. Link
Facebook has changed their privacy settings again recently, and a lot of IT folks are leaving the site because of FB now shares all of your info with third party web sites (birthday, marriage status, groups you've joined, etc.). See this article for more. A lot of individual users are expressing displeasure as well.
If all this sharing-with-other-sites makes you uncomfortable, go to Account/Privacy Settings/Applications and Websites/Instant Personalization (edit setting), and then uncheck the box.
But I must admit that I roll my eyes at most of the people freaking out over FaceBook's various tactics to make money. Facebook is a for-profit enterprise. It's not a public service and it's not a non-profit. Its profits are its most important concern. All those times you've clicked to be a fan of this or that, or inputted your favorite whatever into a field, didn't it ever occur to you that YOU were giving that information away to a company? Facebook can't give away anything you haven't shared with it! And anything you write online YOU are PUBLISHING.
I have some rules I follow to maintain my privacy on the Internet, to help me more easily identify phishing attempts, to protect me from identify theft from strangers, to keep junk out of my inbox, etc. Don't tell me you don't have time to do these types of things -- it takes a different way of thinking, not more time:
- Remember that choosing to have certain information "hidden" doesn't mean it magically disappears; if you have inputted information into a web site, even if you choose for it to be "hidden", it's still there, for the web site owner to use any way it wants to. Before you type information into an online profile, think: do I want this shared with people who want to sell me stuff? Do I want this shared with anyone?
- When you are asked to input information into a web site, consider making your first name just your first initial, or a false first name. I do this when I sign up for email newsletters or online communities. When I get an email from a company I haven't shared information with and it's addressed to just "J" or "Joyce", I know that my information from somewhere else has been sold or shared. I may delete that email addressed to "J" or "Joyce" without even reading it. And if I figure out who has sold my information, I may take my business elsewhere.
- Never input your birthday into a web site if you don't absolutely *have* to. If you DO have to in order to access services, don't use your real birthday unless it's something like an application for a home loan (when you MUST use your correct birthday). That means NEVER use your real birthday on an online social networking site (including Facebook)! If you get birthday wishes on your false birthday from a company you don't know or don't recall doing anything online with previously, you know your information has been sold. Figure out who has sold your information, if you can, and consider taking your business elsewhere.
- Create an email address to use ONLY for e-commerce (buying things on Amazon.com, buying things on eBay, etc.). You may want to get even more ambitious: one email for e-commerce, another for participating in online communities and online social networking sites, etc. This will make it much easier for you to detect a phishing scam or to know when your information has been sold. You will be astounded when you how different your junk mail is on these accounts versus your personal accounts after a few months.
- Consider getting a PO box and using that for all financial transactions. Make it your billing address. Your utility company and phone company will require your real, physical address, but use your PO Box for all commercial activities. Again, you will be astounded when you how different your junk mail is to your PO Box versus your home mail box after a few months. This will keep your physical address off the Web.
- Beware of web sites that offer some sort of reward (like a free screen saver) or prize in exchange for your contact information or other personal details. All they are doing is gathering information for direct marketing purposes; they sell this information to other marketers (who do the same in turn).
- Google yourself. First, just try your name. What would someone learn about you from the first 10 links? Is there anything in the first 10 - 20 hits that you wouldn't want your current employer, a potential employer, a colleague or an institution considering you for membership to see? Are you comfortable with what they would learn these sites? Then try to find everything about yourself you possibly can: your email, your home address, your birthday. You may want people to be able to find your professional email address, but not your birthday. Try to find something online that you would NOT want your current employer, a potential employer, a colleague or an institution considering you for membership to see (a blog comment, a photo, a Tweet, etc.).
Stay in control of your information! Have fun online and share information -- enjoy yourself online! (I certainly do) -- but remember: everything you put online you are publishing, and there are NEVER guarantees it won't be shared with those you never intended to see it.
Also see EFF's Top 12 Ways to Protect Your Online Privacy.
