Facebook: Should I Stay or Should I Go?
Posted by Mert Erkal on May 5, 2008 in Blog, Marketing PR | 11 comments
Facebook is one of the most popular social networking tool for many bloggers. I also use it regularly for promotion of my blog, create groups, and make new blogger friends. Every now and then I read on the media that Facebook is not secure, therefore I decided to limit the information I share with Facebook and other users. BBC World’s Click programme revealed how the personal details of Facebook users could potentially be stolen. They developed a simple application which grabs personal details in Facebook. Read the rest of the story here: Facebook risk
How to Protect Your Personal Details in Facebook?
There are two methods for you to protect your details in Facebook:
1) Stop your details being visible
Log in to your Facebook account and click on the “privacy” option at the top of the front page, then on the “Applications” option, then on the “Other Applications” tab.
You can see what the applications being added by your friends can see about you. Click the option near the bottom marked “Do not share any information about me through the Facebook API”.
However, If you have already installed many Facebook applications, you have to remove them all to click above mentioned option. Then I suggest you to take a look at the next method.
2) Reduce the Details Being Visible
This way you can limit the information sharing for the applications you will install in the future. This is a good way of protecting your personal details.
Again login to your account, go to Privacy, and then select Applications. Click on Other Applications and it will take you to What Other Users Can See via the Facebook Platform. Select the personal details you will grant access for the future applications you will be installing.
Do something for your Facebook privacy before it is too late. By the way, have you added me to your Facebook friend’s list? Please add Mert Erkal before I become famous, or I won’t remember you:)
I removed all my info from FB, and stopped using it for exactly these reasons, plus FB’s apparent inability to actually delete an account. I don’t mind sharing some of my info, but I must be able to control it, something that apparently FB doesn’t support.
Thanks for this information.
Cheers,
Charlane
hey Mert,
Facebook has been a concern of my for a while, so I made some of the changes you mentioned. Please be careful everyone. Thanks for looking out for us Mert.
Thanks Mert for this information about FB. I plan to log in and make these suggested changes right away. I don’t know, I’ve had a FB account for the past 3-4 months, but I have to be honest and say that I’m just not feeling what everyone loves about this social network. I’ve had much more success connecting with people via my MySpace and Ning communities than I have at FB. Now with all this talk about lack of security with it, I just may be leaving FB before the year is out. Thanks again for this information!
Nice and informative.
Easy way to avoid problems with information getting out on your FaceBook is to not put anything on there you don’t want freaking public in the first place.
One I hide my phone number on FB, the marketing calls to my phone drops dramatically.
I think people ore marketer are using such information to make profit on your private information.
If you want to protect your personal identification, just make a fake profile information, that's the easy way i though
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good news is, Now you can get custom vanity URL username for Facebook Profile
Hey great info. Thanks
Very informative and helpful, keep it up good work. Thanks
Protecting your personal information on Facebook is a no brainier; all it requires is some understanding of the network with