Sunday, May 23, 2010

More Facebook Accounts Deleted Because Of Privacy

More Users Delete Facebook Accounts Over Privacy Concerns

You are able to go ahead and join the crowd if you’re considering deleting your Facebook account. In April, Facebook started a program where they give out personal info, not only to friends, but to anyone who looks it up on the internet. Individuals seem to be a lot more concerned about Facebook privacy issues and what Facebook is doing with their personal information. Privacy advocates, politicians and web superstars are publicly announcing they’re deleting their Facebook accounts.

People deleting Facebook accounts for privacy reasons

More people are deleting Facebook accounts forever because most of their personal data is now fair game unless they manually block it. Blogger Mat McKeon reports that when Facebook was founded, way back in 2005, it restricted a user’s personal details to just friends and their network. These last few years, Facebook default privacy settings for each and every person's personal details is now as permissive as no fax payday loans no credit check. Now everyone can access your information except your birthday and contact data. Facebook also changes how personal info is classified which users think is confusing.

Make certain to update your Facebook privacy settings

McKeon doesn't plan on deleting his Facebook account and doesn't suggest others do either. He gets it that Facebook is trying to make money off of the data they get with their free service. But he strongly advocates double and triple checking your privacy settings for a personal profile that might be revealing anything from where you live to the movies you like and the people you trust. The Wall Street Journal reports that some members of the tech community, like Google search-engine guru Matt Cutts and Engadget co-founder Peter Rojas, have announced that they were deactivating their Facebook accounts, a step that shuts down but doesn't delete the Facebook account completely.

How do I delete my Facebook account forever?

It isn't as simple as a point and click to delete your Facebook account forever. Facebook makes it fairly easy to deactivate your account, which will temporarily hide your details. According to wikiHow, it is much more difficult to find the "permanent delete" option. This wikiHow article answers the question: How do I delete my Facebook account forever?

Facebook and privacy issues

“Delete Facebook account” has been a top search term on Google recently. ABC News reports the latest backlash began brewing after Facebook’s developer conference a couple of weeks ago. Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg unveiled various changes he said would make the Web a lot more social and personalized by expanding Facebook’s presence to other online websites. On numerous sites a “social plug-in” now lets users “like” content and see what their Facebook friends have liked, directly from those websites.

Facebook and privacy violations

Facebook by default is now giving third party companies member's friends lists, names, and hobbies. When a Facebook user logs onto a site with the Facebook social plug-in, the content displayed is shaped by all of the personal information in their Facebook account, also as any personal data of their friends. To disable this feature, a manual opt-out is required.

Facebook privacy advocates

Individuals upset about Facebook privacy policies have legislator on their side. “With great power comes great responsibility, and sites like Facebook have great responsibility,” Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., said at a news conference a week after Facebook’s announcements. “In my view, it ought to be the user who determines who gets what information, not Facebook.” Schumer asked the Federal Trade Commission to create guidelines for Facebook and other social networks to follow.

Many plan to delete Facebook account forever

Facebook hasn't done much to help its recent problem associated with privacy. In a Q and A session with readers of the New York Times, Elliot Schrage, Facebook's vice president for public policy, responded to privacy concerns by saying that participating in Facebook is "a choice." He said "Please don't share if you're not comfortable.". Numerous people are taking that advice.

Sources

Mat McKeon reports

http://mattmckeon.com/facebook-privacy/

Wall Street Journal reports

http://blogs.wsj.com/digits/2010/05/14/looking-to-delete-your-facebook-account-youre-not-alone/



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