Reverse Engineering Facebook Privacy Settings for Your Viewing Pleasure
Tuesday, 18 August 2009No matter what your level of interest or involvement in Facebook is, you’re probably aware of its basic purpose: connecting you with people you know. And, based on how much information they want to share, that connection can sometimes tip overboard into the Too-Much-Information category.
We Share a Lot. But Does That Mean We Need to See a Lot?
The potential for Facebook to overload us with things we definitely don’t need–and sometimes plain just don’t want–to know has been an issue, to varying degrees, for awhile now. Remember the “MySpace ruined my relationship” t-shirt? Same premise. And how many jobs, marriages and friendships have ended awkwardly thanks to someone neglecting to pay attention to what they post online?
We live in a culture that increasingly values openness and honesty, in much the way that privacy was prized in the past. Facebook has continually worked to fine-tune their privacy settings to allow for full customization of your profile display, but this can only go so far. Once you are on Facebook or any other social network, a certain amount of information is always going to be available for public consumption. And by signing up for these sites, you’ve also opted to receive a flood of information from other users. But how much is too much?
