Mashable Releases Infographic About Privacy on Facebook

Wildly popular the social networking site may be but no-one can deny that privacy on Facebook is a long-running issue.

The latest Facebook privacy issues have arisen as the result of the newly released Facebook Places. This application allows users to check in to a nearby location, thereby letting their friends know where they are going to be. However, under the default settings, it is also possible for users to tag a friend’s location, regardless of whether or not that friend is actually there and all check-ins will be posted in the news feed and activity stream for that location.

Understandably, this has not gone down well and one look at the below infographic will tell you why. Created for Mashable by Lisa Waananen, the infographic demonstrates that concerns about privacy on Facebook are by no means trivial, nor are they isolated incidents.

Personally, I’m not given over to the hysteria that can surround the issue of CCTV but even I must admit that Facebook Places does seem somewhat reminiscent of George Orwell’s 1984, though admittedly “Facebook is watching you” does not have the same ring to it. Nevertheless, privacy on Facebook is a real issue and perhaps it would be wise for the site owners to think about the default settings whenever they release a new feature. Assuming that users do not want to share everything would show that users’ concerns are being taken seriously and may well earn some much needed goodwill.

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