If it were a country, it would be the world's 3rd largest, ahead of the United States and only behind China and India. It even tops Google for weekly traffic in the U.S. What is it? That's right Facebook.
Given its popularity I can only guess that you, your mom, teacher, possibly grandmother, and 10-year-old niece all have Facebook accounts.
Since it first opened shop to college students in 2005, its privacy protection regulations have changed dramatically, or to put it another way shrank drastically. Personal information that you believe you're sharing with only the closest of friends and colleagues is now being shared with the entire Internet. Dan Tynan of ITworld said Facebook pulled a privacy bait and switch. Tynan compared Facebook to a friend who lets you live in an apartment he owns for free as long as you don't mind him dropping by now and again. But over time he keeps changing the lease to where it eventually allows him to come over to the apartment whenever he feels like to throw a large party.
You can take a look for yourself how the privacy settings have evolved over the years with this interactive infograph: The Evolution of privacy on Facebook.
Wired.com claims Facebook has gone rogue and people should start searching for an alternative social network. People aren't likely to leave Facebook anytime soon, but everyone should be aware of what is going on with personal information.
So how do you keep your "private" Facebook details private? BusinessInsider.com recently released a how-to-guide on putting your Facebook profile on a privacy lockdown. Follow their step-by-step visual guide to help you keep your personal information just between you and your friends.
As I logged onto my Facebook profile today I caught this pop-up:
Worried about privacy? Your photos are safe. There have been misleading rumors recently about the use of your photos in ads. Don't believe them. These rumors were related to third-party applications, and not ads shown by Facebook. Get the whole story at the Facebook Blog, or check out the Help Center.
Curious about what Facebook says about privacy? Read it here: Facebook's guide to privacy.
Wired.com put it simply in Facebook's Gone Rogue; It's Time for an Alternative, "if multiple blogs are writing posts explaining how to use your privacy system, you can take that as a sign you aren’t treating your users with respect, it means you are coercing them into choices they don’t want using design principles. That’s creepy."
If you have a Facebook account, check your privacy settings now to make sure your information is as secure as it should be.
-Makenzie
If you are worried about your private information or pictures being released or leaked onto Facebook; then maybe you should evaluate whether you should have a Facebook or not.
I hate posting private information on facebook - I just don't feel safe anymore! You can't trust the privacy of your friends accounts even if you trust your own...
You make a good point. You can't really rely on what friends' profiles will reveal about your information. Everyone has to be careful on Facebook. And regularly review privacy settings, because Facebook likes to regularly tweak things...
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