I wiped my Facebook info today. It’s not that I don’t like you, your fan page or your cause…it’s just that…have you poked around in your privacy settings lately? You can go 13 layers deep and still have info in your profile being leaked out to who knows where. I don’t think “they” are “out to get us” but I’d like to keep my interests, hobbies, level of education, where I live and employment history to myself. Plus under their new system every movie, book, tv show and activity I liked are forceably linked to a public page about the subject. You can no longer say “I like Batman” and just have it be text sitting there, telling people you like the caped crusader.

Go to Account > Privacy Settings > Applications and Websites > Instant Personalization Pilot Program (Edit Setting)

Is the box checked? Did you know your info was being sent to other partner websites to “personalize your experience” there. What a load of crap!

I’m not telling you to run away from Facebook (because I’ll still keep using it for a while). I’m just saying, have you poked around in your settings lately? A lot of photo albums I thought only friends could see, apparently “Everyone” could see. No big deal, it was just pets and random family things…but I was still a little annoyed. Which is why most of our family, vacation and personal photos aren’t up on Facebook…they’re hosted at a separate site that uses Gallery.

I’m also starting to wonder how safe are my “private” messages being sent back and forth through Facebook’s messaging system? Seriously, if you need to get in touch…please email me instead!

And apparently every time Facebook changes/updates itself your privacy settings are reset. What else don’t you know you’re sharing with advertisers and the world?

A few good articles:
Five hidden dangers of Facebook (Q&A)
Facebook’s Gone Rogue; It’s Time for an Open Alternative