According to the latest posts on the Facebook blog, the privacy changes founder Mark Zuckerberg announced last week will start taking effect today. Upon login, every Facebook user will be required to check out the new privacy settings and adjust their own accordingly, although no one I’ve spoken with has yet received this prompt.
As a result of these changes, Facebook claims, users will be able to set privacy levels for each piece of content they share with the site. At the time of writing, the regional networks do still appear to be around, and the post gives no definite timeline for their removal.
Hidden way down near the bottom of the lengthy post, though, Facebook asserts that a “limited set of basic information” will be made publicly available to everyone regardless of privacy settings. This information includes name, gender, city, profile picture, networks, pages, and full friends list. Yes, that’s right, Facebook has taken away your ability to make any of this information private. Which begs the question: are they really trying to help you control your privacy?
UPDATE: After waiting with baited breath, I finally got the Privacy notice in my own account. I clicked Next, and…
I’d really like to adjust my privacy settings, Facebook. Why won’t you let me?
No doubt, this sounds like a horrible move on the privacy front. It looks like they are looking for more consistent and useable public profiles, but at the cost of the privacy of their users.
I wonder if this is is the beginning of the end for this once mighty social media giant.