Facebook Rolls Out New Privacy Settings

Shevonne authors at ChicWriter.com and wrote this article on behalf of TopHost.Gr, a Greek web host that offers shared hosting.

Facebook has added a new dimension to their privacy settings. They call these new privacy features a “simplified” way for users to modify their privacy settings.

The most interesting part is the ability to control who can see individual status updates.

When you log on to Facebook, you are able to review the new privacy policy and modify your privacy settings. You can decide to adopt the new default Facebook privacy setting, or keep your current one.

Making more information public

Facebook hopes that by giving their 350 million users more control over their privacy, people will want to share more information with the public. The company estimates that only 15 to 20 percent of its users have modified the default privacy settings that were originally in place.

Being someone who has adjusted her privacy settings and thinks that it’s one of Facebook’s most powerful features, I am always surprised to talk to someone who is worried about adding his/her employer or relative, and doesn’t even know that they can place people in different lists and modify their privacy settings to control what people can or can’t view. These new privacy settings will allow anyone, regardless of computer skills, the ability to have more control over their Facebook account.

Facebook’s way to compete with Twitter?

These new privacy settings occur right after Google announced that Facebook and Twitter feeds would now be searchable in their new real-time search. Some groups think that this is Facebook’s way of competing with Twitter.

Twitter accounts are usually public, the default, unless a user changes the setting to public. This increases the chance of Twitter feeds to be more indexed than Facebook feeds, which are usually private.