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Facebook rolls out new, improved, and simplified security settings
I have to admit, the new settings 'wizard' isn't very intuitive. You're presented one column which you presume is the new setting, and the other column shows you the old -- but it doesn't quite work. When you give it a go, you'll see what I mean. Only after you mouse-over the radio button (hardly intuitive) can you see the actual change being made. There's also a neat new flag on every wall post that you make, take a look:
The main reason for this change according to Facebook, is that they are moving towards a 'friends of friends' system. The current 'networks' scheme apparently doesn't accurately reflect most relationships on the largest social network in the world. For power users this doesn't really reflect a significant improvement in your security; it's good news for our families and loved ones, though. That pop-up is going to keep on nagging them until they actually go and change -- and thus LOOK -- at their security settings.
As always, technology is awesome, but incredibly dangerous if you have no idea of what's going on beneath the hood -- this is Facebook's way of forcing people to learn about their online security.
Comments
14
Subscribe to commentsEdwardDec 9th 2009 12:03PM
not showing for me
Sebastian AnthonyDec 9th 2009 12:14PM
Thanks for the tip. I guess this is a gradual roll-out then!
GavDec 9th 2009 12:12PM
Yes but what about the fact that you have now lost control over what appears in the public search view? Your friends, your groups, whose wall you've written on, what events you're attending. All 100% public if people can search for you.
I've set my search availability to 'Friends of Friends' now, so if someone with no mutual friends wants to find me, they'll have to have my URL.
Sebastian AnthonyDec 9th 2009 12:14PM
Aye, I was concerned about that too. I assumed there was an option somewhere to disable that... but I will go have a look now!
GavDec 9th 2009 12:17PM
If you find an option, please let us know!
Sebastian AnthonyDec 9th 2009 12:31PM
It seems (and this is mega-crap), that only NEW wall posts, with the new security settings, can be private.
So my latest wall post, which I set to friends-only, isn't publicly visible. But everything else I've ever done is? Which is pretty lame...
GavDec 9th 2009 12:33PM
Maybe then, just maybe, they are currently running, or are planning to run, a db query (and let's face it, that could take days with a database so large) to correct that?
Here's hoping.
JackDec 9th 2009 5:14PM
I have the new privacy settings, and they suck!
The Privacy page used to give you heaps of control of who gets to see what, or who you can block things like your status update from.
Now, everything is bunched together, so if you want to block only your status update from a person, you also have to block your wall to them (meaning what other people post on your wall, the person you blocked the status update for, wont be able to see it what people post on your wall) as before they could.
When Facebook asked me to change to the new privacy settings, they wanted me to set my PERSONAL INFORMATION to EVERYBODY! I thought they want to increase privacy not reduce it.
Now my public page looks crap when people I dont have as a friend visits. All they see is the Pages I have joined - and there is not setting to show that only to friends!
The only good thing is that you can show your status update to certain people only.
Every change Facebook as made, it had sucked.
Your privacy settings have decreased, and you made my profile more open than over. Go back to the old way. I was supporting these new privacy changes, but they way you set it up... come on. 350 million users, you should have done a better job.
Sebastian AnthonyDec 9th 2009 8:05PM
I have to admit, I'm feeling the same way now, after some more experimentation...
There seem to be very limited ways to actually be fully private now... lame.
codeman38Dec 10th 2009 11:12AM
And they've grouped together stuff that I don't consider as groupable.
Like e-mail address and phone number, for instance. I'm OK with random friends-of-friends e-mailing me. I'm not OK with friends-of-friends calling me. Those used to be separate controls; they're grouped together under contact information in the wizard.
codeman38Dec 10th 2009 11:22AM
OK, correction-- phone number isn't in the same category as e-mail on the wizard, but I have no idea what category it *is* in.
And the same holds true for e-mail and IM, for that matter; those are grouped together in the wizard, but they're separate on the old privacy settings.
JackDec 10th 2009 6:56PM
I know, the new settings just suck. Theres less controls even though they say there are more. And finding the right settings is difficult too. I wouldnt be supprised that Facebook would cache every information that you make public - even for 1 second, so nows its all out in the open if you switched to to everyone and changed it back.
Ive noticed a few friends of mine privacy settings have changed - I can now view their photos which before they blocked, and I can't see their status updates on my phone, but can in the web browser. What is up with that?
I wrote more in my blog if you want to read about it: http://www.jackcola.org/blog/46-facebook-new-privacy-options-suck-your-privacy-is-now-gone
CarolDec 15th 2009 10:03PM
Has anyone noticed FB took away the News Feed and Wall Privacy settings? Remember where you check the boxes to show or not show a wall post, comments on a status or photo, added a friend or liked something. It's all gone. We have no control over that anymore. It's frustrating!!! Mine is stuck so you can't see my posts on a friends wall in the mutual friends news feed. Other friends settings are stuck so they ALWAYS show in the news feed. I have spent hours searching through the new privacy settings for this!! There used to be boxes to check and uncheck for these things. They are no longer there.
Sebastian AnthonyDec 15th 2009 10:22PM
I quite like that you can set specific Wall Posts to public/private though! That should make up for some of the loss at least -- but I agree, these new changes generally suck :)