As expected, Facebook has announced a shakeup of its complicated privacy settings. Along with the ability to make status updates public, just like Twitter, the new settings allow you to customise almost everything to help you choose just what Joe Public can and can’t see about you.
So, what’s new? First off, Facebook regional networks are out, a sensible move since Facebook moved beyond universities and schools several years ago, and they varied drastically in size.
Next, you’ll be able to change privacy settings on Facebook anywhere you could before, but with one unified menu, offering public sharing, friends, friends-of-friends, networks and custom settings of your choice. Now that profile pages can be public, you can become a “fan” of a person too, even if they don’t know you.
If you’re worried about potential employers scouring through albums of you lying comatose on nightclub floor, don’t worry: it’s all opt-in, with no change to the default setting, and you’ll have to choose to open your content up to anyone on Facebook.
The move means Facebook now allows for “following” of others on the social network and public sharing of media, just like Twitter, and the company says it’s even considering making public information indexable on search engines. Facebook says it’s testing the new privacy settings with 40,000 users right now, with a gradual roll out to all users, so watch out: the realtime search wars are only just beginning.
Out TBC | £free | Facebook (Via TechCrunch)
