How Private Are You on Facebook?

It was highlighted to me recently by an unfortunate incident how important it is to know exactly how private you are on Facebook. Facebook has a habit of setting their default settings to best serve their advertisers, rather than their users. It pays to remember that Facebook is a commercial entity, with a goal to make money.

I know that many in YWAM, or missions in general, do not want the entire world to be privy to their personal information, thoughts and photos. While Facebook is a great way to connect with only the people you want to connect with, you need to do so carefully.

Below is an image of my privacy settings, with you get to by clicking on “Account / Privacy Settings” in the top right corner of Facebook. I keep it so that only friends can see anything about me as I have control of who I friend, but not who my friends are friends with…

If you set it up like that then you are part way there, but you also have to be very aware of what organisations or companies you “like” and what applications you load. Liking fan pages or loading applications gives them access to all sorts of information about you that you would probably rather they didn’t know.

Probably the most comprehensive guide that I have found recently about Facebook privacy and security is the ZDNet article “The Definitive Facebook Lockdown Guide”. If you are at all concerned about your personal privacy and security, and are on Facebook, then I consider it a must read article.

Of course the best way for you to protect your privacy is to simply stay off Facebook, but I don’t know many people who would want to do that …