Facebook Teases 'Places' Feature, Stirs Up More Privacy Concerns

by Terrence O'Brien on March 30, 2010 at 08:30 AM

On Friday, Facebook announced some proposed changes to its privacy policy and statement of rights and responsibilities. As usual with this type of document, the language is dense with legalese, but Facebook graciously offers a so-called "redline" version (even though the lines in question are blue). The simplified document highlights the new language while crossing out major changes. Don't go nuts trying to read the whole thing: there are basically two major changes.

Facebook "Places":

First are some clues about the social network's upcoming location-based features. We still have no firm details about how it will function, but a change in language, with a brief explanation, reveals that Facebook doesn't intend to simply slap a lat-long tag on your status updates and call it a day. The word "place" has now been substituted for "location," which, as spokesman Michael Richter explains on the Facebook blog, could link to a page for a business such as a restaurant. Some, including VentureBeat and ReadWriteWeb, have speculated that Facebook intends to tie the location features to its "pages" to entice advertisers and encourage businesses to increase their presence on The Good Book. This could be the first step in turning Facebook into a competitor for Yelp and Google Place Pages (especially when paired with Buzz).

A later mention of "places" indicates that other users will be able to tag you as being at a place, the same way they can with photographs. VentureBeat calls this a "subtle but important distinction between the way other location-sharing apps work."

Privacy and Information Sharing:

Another change to the privacy and statement of rights documents is more troubling. Facebook says that it will now be sharing some "general information" about you with pre-approved sites if you have an account. Essentially, it sounds like the company is automatically turning on Facebook Connect at certain sites without your permission, and has yet to announce what these pre-approved sites are. Facebook defines "general information" pretty broadly as:

"...your and your friends' names, profile pictures, gender, connections, and any content shared using the Everyone privacy setting. We may also make information about the location of your computer or access device and your age available to applications and websites..."

ReadWriteWeb described the proposed change as "downright creepy." We couldn't have said it better. The changes specify that pages could offer an opt-out option, but the sharing of personal data with third parties should always require explicit permission from the user. TechCrunch points out that, "these sites will also be able to display any data you've shared with 'everyone', which is of course now the default option on Facebook."

The twist on location, which the company described as "even more exciting" than its original plans, sounds interesting and addresses some of our questions about what Facebook had to offer in drawing users away from Foursquare, Gowalla, Twitter and Buzz. But that potential is overshadowed by our concern that personal information could potentially be shared without consent.

We ask that Facebook take this proposed revision to its statement of rights and responsibilities into consideration -- the only person who has the right to share your information with any third parties is you. [From: Facebook, Inside Facebook, VentureBeat, ReadWriteWeb and TechCrunch, via: CNN]

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Facebook's Most Annoying Things

Most Annoying Things About Facebook

Sure, Facebook can be a lot of fun. It's a great way to reconnect with lost friends and to keep up with people on the fringes of your social circle. And as far as workday distractions go, there's nothing better.

It's hardly a perfect service, though. Minor aggravations add up fast and can drive you nuts. We've combed through the annoyances to find the ten annoyances that bug people the most.

Most Annoying Things About Facebook

Problem: Constant interface changes
Why it's annoying: Granted, innovation is necessary to avoid becoming stale, but sometimes you're better off leaving well enough alone. Facebook has radically overhauled its front page so many times that it's hard to keep count. Just as the anger dies down over one design, the site changes things again -- and confusion sets in. What's the difference between "News feed" and "Live feed"? And why can't Facebook remember which I prefer?
Possible solution: Sadly, there's not much you can do about this -- except wait for the next face-lift.

Most Annoying Things About Facebook

Problem: Inappropriate automated friend suggestions
Why it's annoying: Friend suggestions can be handy, but when Facebook tries to push an ex-girlfriend or boyfriend on you, it's kind of awkward. Similarly, if you've had a major falling-out with someone who has mutual friends, you're bound to see their face pop up in the 'suggestion' field at some point. It makes a clean break that much harder to get.

Possible solution: The little "x" to the right will make the suggestion go away forever. To prevent further frustration, you might want to also click "see all" and weed out any other offending names.

Most Annoying Things About Facebook

Problem: Never-ending game invitations
Why it's annoying: 'Farmville' and 'Mafia Wars' might be fun, but if you don't want to play them, the constant invites are infuriating. Many Facebook games are like Ponzi schemes; the way to succeed is to get more people playing. And once you've managed to filter out one game, another pops up.
Possible solution: It's not too hard to hide the requests and invitations for these games. Just click "Block this application" when you get the first invite. Then, hover over the updates that are clogging your news feed, and click "Hide" when the word appears.

Most Annoying Things About Facebook

Problem: Political fights
Why it's annoying: Between cable news and talk radio, it's hard enough to hide the squabbling between the left and the right. So when political debates fire up on Facebook, it's particularly annoying. All you want to do is see friends' pictures and learn what they're up to -- not eavesdrop on a debate over healthcare reform.
Possible solution: If you've got a friend who picks such fights in their status updates, you might be best off hiding them. You can still check in on them whenever you'd like, but you won't have opinions shoved down your throat.

Most Annoying Things About Facebook

Problem: Imported updates from Twitter
Why it's annoying: Tweets have their own language and shorthand, and if you're not familiar with the 140-character-or-less updates, it might look like someone had a hand spasm while typing. Facebook and Twitter are two entirely different services -- and forcing the two together feels like a poorly arranged marriage.
Possible solution: Once again, you're kind of stuck. Your best bet is to either embrace the language of the tweet -- or learn to selectively ignore posts.

Most Annoying Things About Facebook

Problem: No 'Dislike' button
Why it's annoying: A friend proudly mentions in a status update that she got a promotion. That's an easy thing to like. But what about when they announce they've been laid off? In its relentless drive to be cheery, Facebook hasn't given us the choice to quickly commiserate or disagree with someone.
Possible solution: There's an active lobbying effort to get Facebook to add a 'Dislike' button, with over 553,000 people members of a group specifically asking for one. Hopefully, the powers that be will listen to the protests.

Most Annoying Things About Facebook

Problem: People who 'friend' you too fast
Why it's annoying: Sometimes it's a person you've gone out with one time. Sometimes it's a coworker you only speak with occasionally. But odds are you've been 'friended' by someone you'd rather not have on your list. Technically, ignoring the request is an option, but that can create some real world tensions.
Possible solution: Your privacy settings can make this problem an easy one to conquer. You can block specific people from seeing status updates, photos and more by choosing 'custom' and black-listing them. Then, hide their updates from your news feed.

Most Annoying Things About Facebook

Problem: Stealth tagging
Why it's annoying: We all have horrifying childhood pictures or shots we wouldn't want to share with the world. Invariably, though, friends will post them as a joke of sorts and tag you. All of a sudden, that prom picture of you with acne, coke-bottle glasses, and a really bad perm is out there for everyone to see.
Possible solution: You can untag yourself, which prevents others from putting your name to the picture -- but in some cases, that's closing the barn door after the horse has run away.

Most Annoying Things About Facebook

Problem: Obvious celebrity marketing ploys
Why it's annoying: Celebrities love Facebook -- or so it would seem. But all too often, it's someone writing on their behalf (and often poorly). That doesn't stop avid fans from falling over themselves to 'like' every comment and chime in as part of the 'amen' chorus.
Possible solution: Unless you're sure it's actually the celebrity doing the updates, you'd often do better to just avoid the pages. After all, is it really that critical that you declare yourself as a fan?

Most Annoying Things About Facebook

Facebook 101: 25 Essential Tips and Tricks

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Tags: facebook, FACEBOOK CONNECT, facebook places, FacebookConnect, FacebookPlaces, location, location-based, places, privacy, top

Comments

118

Futur AccountantMar 31st 2010 12:59AM

Neutral

I use Facebook everyday and have never been too concerned with privacy until lately with all of the changes that they are making. I find it that if you dont share your information, they cant use it. As far as my email goes with them, I registered with an email that I never use and it has nothing in it but Facebook and other social site things. I go in every once in a while and clean it out but thats it. Also from reading the statement it says that they will use information that you have listed under EVERYONE. Now I dont know about you guys but I have nothing in my profile listed as everyone. And all my friends are in categories and I even block some of the things that I allow them to see. I check my privacy periodically for any changes and that seems to work for me. I know they are going to do whatever they want anyway and the only way we can prevent this to happening to us is to not use the site.

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Facebook Teases 'Places' Feature, Stirs Up More Privacy Concerns

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