Facebook Timeline Privacy Concerns

Facebook Timeline Privacy Concerns

Our previous Facebook privacy issues article put out earlier today covered quite a bit of ground, but we felt it was necessary to dedicate an entire article around Facebook Timeline privacy concerns.  ‘Why?’ you might ask.  Well because your good name and reputation is on the line my friend.  It’s really easy to click on Add To Your Timeline when you find a song you’d like to listen to or just an article you’d like to read, but do you know the long term implications.  This is why many users and tech-geeks alike are talking about Facebook Timeline privacy concerns.  We read a great post about the Facebook Timeline privacy concerns from Mashable’s founder, Pete Cashmore, and here’s what we found.

Facebook Timeline Privacy Concerns | Article Browsing Are You?

Pete Cashmore’s funny reference to Huffington Post’s social article sharing capabilities was the perfect analogy to the Facebook Timeline privacy concerns, check it out:

I’m pretty familiar with this auto-sharing function since it’s been a feature of The Huffington Post for a good while now. The way it works there: Once you join the site, every article you read is shared with your friends via an activity feed (unless you switch that feature off).

So right now I can see that someone I know professionally read “Scarlett Johansson Nude Photos” and a male colleague, who will remain anonymous, recently read the following:

1. “Conan O’Brien Stares At Nicole Scherzinger’s Cleavage”

2. “Heather Morris On Breast Implants”

3. “Perrey Reeves Shows Off Bikini Body (PHOTO)”

http://mashable.com/2011/09/28/new-facebook-feature/

 

Now I don’t know, but something tells me that you weren’t planning on sharing laughter with your mom or boss about Conan O’Brien’s obvious gaze at Nicole Scherzinger’s cleavage, but surprise just a few clicks and everybody’s tuned in.  Of course in Facebook’s defense they allow you to opt out of auto-shares at your request in order to combat some of these Facebook Timeline privacy concerns.

Facebook Timeline Privacy Concerns | Learn How to Opt Out of Auto-Sharing

So when you click on a song that you like an opt-in pop up will land on your screen.  If you go ahead and click “Add To Your Timeline” without actually reading any of the Terms and Conditions, be forewarned that its more than likely that you just gave permission for that app to post to your Timeline at any given time.  These Facebook Timeline privacy concerns are scaring people away from the platform, don’t shy away, just be conscious and don’t get too click happy.

Here’s what Cashmore has to say on the subject of Facebook Timeline privacy concerns:

Also note that when you add an app to your Timeline, you get the option to share your activity with “Public,” “Friends” or “Custom.” By clicking “Custom,” you get the option to hide your activity from everyone but yourself

http://mashable.com/2011/09/28/new-facebook-feature/

Facebook Timeline Privacy Concerns | Bottomline

We’re all going to fall victim to these Facebook Timeline privacy concerns as we familiarize ourselves with the new feature.  Have no fear, it’s not like adding an app to your Timeline is irreversible, you can remove it at any time.  No one’s invincible against a faux-paus or two, but once we grip the idea that Facebook wants to interact and share our information on every level, we can learn how to customize this to our own liking.  I think we’ll all be able to comfortably enjoy the new features and be a little less frightened about the Facebook Timeline privacy concerns.

Under Creative Commons License: Attribution Original Picture Source: http://mashable.com/2011/09/22/how-to-facebook-timeline/