subject: Facebook Simplifies Privacy — But Can They Do More? [print this page] Facebook Simplifies Privacy But Can They Do More?
Following weeks of public controversy, backlash, and legal woes, Facebook has just announced its plan to once again revamp privacy controls this time, making it a much simpler process. In the next few weeks, Facebook is implementing a simple, one-click privacy control system allowing users to share information with "Everyone," "Friends of Friends" or "Friends Only," similar to the privacy changes MySpace made just last week. Facebook's quick response is a good sign that it continues to be receptive to its more than 400 million users.
Still, there are more changes many users would like to see. Comments on blogs, news articles, and other stories around the Web are full of user input and ideas of how to make Facebook privacy even better. Here's a recap of the most discussed ideas of ways Facebook can further improve its privacy settings in the future.
Opt-in, Not Opt-out
The changes are a direct response to user feedback following the implementation of Connected Profiles and Instant Personalization, platforms that shared a user's information to third-parties by default with many users unaware of what was happening. Facebook's reasoning was that users could opt-out of this, but the process of doing so was complicated. PCWorld's Ian Paul wrote, "An opt-out model forces Facebook users to turn these new features off instead of letting them decide whether or not they want to use the new feature in the first place." In the future, Facebook could make all new changes opt-in instead of opt-out, satisfying users and avoiding any further backlash.
Third Party Overview
Part of the appeal of Facebook is the opportunity to play games with friends, and join groups with others who share similar interests. In order to do any of these activities, users must allow third-party access to their profile, without knowing how or what that access will be used for.
To read more about Facebook's Privacy Changes, visit Sparxoo.com.
