Facebook and Privacy

Facebook has been dealing with issues of privacy since its beginning. People want to share information with friends, but they don't want the whole world to know about any details of their personal lives. Zuckerberg's main intention with creating facebook was to create a social network where people could have virtual relationships with people. In "The Social Network," one of the uses of facebook that Zuckerberg suggested was to see if people were in a relationship or not, or to get some background information on a blind date.

Last year, Consumer Reports came out with a review regarding Facebook and their privacy issues. One of the most surprising things that this article points out is that Facebook collects data anytime you visit a Facebook page. For example, anytime a person visits a site with a Facebook "like" button, Facebook knows about it. It doesnt matter if you are logged in to facebook or not, they still know that you visited that site.This can help them with targeting for advertisements.

Also slightly nerve-racking about Facebook and their privacy settings is that a friend of your friend can see some of your information without your knowledge or approval. It doesnt matter if you have the restricted settings on or not, they can still see the information.

Some people may not think this is a big deal, but it makes it easier for ID thieves steal identities of people who have specific information on their facebook page. Plus its just plain creepy. You don't really know who is visiting your profile page. There could be creepers, stalkers, and criminals who know everything about you, and sneak up and steal something from you without you having any clue.

So many people use facebook without realizing how unsecure it really is, and it is important for people to be aware and to perform necessary actions to take care of themselves and their identities.