Facebook Privacy?

[island_dude]

I just removed almost anything of substance from my facebook profile. It seems that each change they make to their policies forces me to expose more and more. Eventually, I will probably just delete my profile completely.

It was not easy deleting all of this stuff. The interface basically prevents you from doing it unless you are very persistent. I clobbered all of my jobs, school info and interests. They force all of this stuff to be directly search-able.

Here is one of several good articles that PC world has on the topic:

How to Keep Your Privacy Safe(r) on Facebook - PCWorld

[Erakad]

I don't blame you, I did the same on another "social networking" site. Too much personal info on a site, combined with those actively cruising these sites, presents an opportunities I just don't care to offer.

[Porsche-O-Phile]

I don't bother with any of them. Facebook, Myspace, Linkedin, Buzz, any of that crap.

No good can come of having personal info on the net. None. Too many bots, scammers, dirtbags, etc.

How/why parents ever let their children post info on these sites is beyond me. It's extremely reckless and poor judgment, IMHO.

[Joe Bob]

Delete it completely and start over....

How to permanently delete your facebook account. | Facebook

[Noah930]

Look yourself up on Spokeo.com. It pools info from various types of these seemingly innocent social networking sites, public records, etc. and packages it all into a nice convenient website for not-so-nice people to use. It'll give your address, age, ethnicity, credit score, income, occupation, schooling, and even your mother's name. There's a way to opt out in Spokeo's privacy settings, though.

So I've started entering either minimal info (or slightly erroneous info if I can't opt out) on the various sites where I'm signed up.

[Embraer]

Spokeo said I was worth over a million dollars, that I was in my mid-60's, but I still lived with my parents. I looked up some other people I know, and not a single piece of information was true on them

[Noah930]

Good for you. My wife didn't show up on it, either. But I did, as did my sister. Not all the info was correct, but enough stuff was correct that, with a couple more bits of information, someone could use that info in identity theft. How about Intelius.com?

[pete3799]

I just did the spokeo thing........
I don't exist

[Noah930]

Another thought: I'm a doctor. If you look me up on the state medical board, you can find my contact address. I (probably like most) use my office address. But if you're retired yet maintain an active license (a lot of physicians do that), you no longer have an office address. So the state lists your home address. Is that a good idea?

[Porsche-O-Phile]

My info is incorrect which is fine. My wife doesn't exist.

Good.

[KevinP73]

Just a couple days ago I witnessed a demonstration of a program being developed for collection agencies, skip tracers, credit agencies, crime syndicates, Nigerian entrepreneurs that, by searching public data bases(Facebook,AOL, Yahoo, etc.) could find an association or link or connection with just about any two names entered into the search box. Using information found primarily on Facebook this program found a connection between myself and old girlfriend who I haven't spoken to in nearly 20 years and a person who I do business with on almost a daily basis. And it only took three levels of association to make the connection. The main connection between the two of us is actually someone I have never heard of,nor has he of me, and is currently living in a completely different country.
It was at the same time that I cranked back almost everything I could of my personal info on Facebook. The decision to keep our company page on Facebook will be a topic of conversation at the next corp. meeting.

[KevinP73]

P.S. Did you know that the privacy settings on Facebook allow their software access to your e-mail contacts directory and gives them permission to share that data with anyone they (Facebook) feel might have a product or service you may be interested in?

[Oh Haha]

I just checked spokeo. I'm not there but my wife is.

What I saw was really nothing more than can be found in a local phone book.

That being said, I don't post much of anything on Facebook anyway. I was kind of cool to re-connect with some folks from days gone by but I have no interest in knowing EVERYTHING they do.


Like Twitter, I think it's just silly. Who really gives a flyin' crap what you had for dinner?

[stealthn]

Facebook and privacy do not belong in the same sentence.

The CEO is a tool and if you put any information on this site consider it public domain to be used, sold, or integrated into any other site.

[Zeke]

My wife earlier got what looks to be a phishing scam related to FB. It had info about her that she has never put in her FB account, like her high school of record. She did not follow through and at this moment is trying to recreate how this got to her.

If she figures it out, I'll report.

Correction: she HAD at one time given form fill info that she now only remembers.

[island_dude]

The spokeo does have an opt out, but they don't make it obvious that it works. I set up an email account just to see if it gets spammed from trying to opt out. Should be interesting.

[Noah930]

I know about the privacy request on spokeo, but what about intelius?

[pwd72s]

Facebook privacy? Isn't that what they call an oxymoron?