• Table Of Contents

• Introduction
• Ways Facebook Can Track You
• Keeping Your Facebook Account Private
• Controlling Privacy While Using Apps, games and websites
• Helpful Online Resources
• References

Introduction

According to New York-based marketing firm Likeable Media, Facebook is likely to experience substantial growth in 2011 and reach more than one billion users worldwide by the end of the year. [5] If you imagine that number as the number of people who could potentially access your personal information, it’s quite unsettling.

Then there are third party developers (many of whom, according to critics, are not thoroughly inspected by Facebook) that have been caught selling user information to outside firms in years past. [7] With over 550,000 apps now available, created mostly by independent software developers, it’s not surprising that Facebook has had trouble policing them. [2]

The Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3), a partnership between the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the National White Collar Crime Center (NW3C), has logged more than 2 million consumer complaints about online criminal activity with a total loss of $1.7 billion since they began in 2000. Many of the IC3’s complaints involve identity theft and unauthorized use of credit cards or bank accounts.  [9] For this reason, it’s crucial to examine how we use Facebook and more importantly, how we can truly protect our privacy while using the social networking site.

Ways Facebook Can Track You

As Facebook continues to grow, so have its tracking abilities. “Facebook can essentially track you around the Web,” says Nicole Ozer, a policy director for the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU). [7] With the use of the social networking site’s plug-ins, Facebook actually learns what websites you visit as long as you’re logged into Facebook. These social plug-ins use widgets which allow you to see which of your friends have also visited the website you are visiting, creating what Facebook hopes will be a more socially interactive and personalized experience for their users. [3] Although users are informed about this type of data collection upfront, many people don’t pay attention to the fine print and are unaware they are being tracked.

It is important to note that one third of Facebook’s traffic is actually created by mobile users. [6] With that in mind, Facebook launched a GPS-based app called Facebook Places last year, which allows users to virtually “check in” to various locations like restaurants, shops, or other venues via a mobile phone. Like its direct competitor, Foursquare, this location-based application has become increasingly trendy, especially with young Facebook users.  In fact, the app is now built in to Facebook’s popular mobile app, which comes pre-installed to many mobile and smart phones.

You should be aware of two potentially dangerous features of Facebook Places: 1) Users can add any location to the service, including a home address or office; 2) Friends can check users into locations unless you’ve disabled the setting. [7] To disable that setting, follow these 5 simple steps below:

1. Log into your Facebook account and click on “Account” located on the upper right hand corner of your screen.
2. Drop down to “Privacy Settings” and click.
3. Under the “Sharing on Facebook” section, click “Custom” and then click “Customize settings.” A new page will open.
4. Scroll down to the “Things others share” section and look for where it says “Friends can check me in to places.” Click “Edit settings” and a pop-up window will appear.
5. Use the drop down menu to disable this setting. Click “OK” to apply.

Finally, to disable Facebook Places on your mobile device to prevent people from checking into your visible locations, visit the options area on your cell phone and uncheck “Share my location with Facebook.” [10]

Keeping Your Facebook Account Private

The best way to protect your privacy and prevent Internet related crimes like identity theft on Facebook is by maintaining your privacy settings. Follow these 8 steps below to take action in securing your account.

1. Log into your Facebook account and click on “Account” located on the upper right hand corner of your screen.
2. Drop down to “Privacy Settings” and click.
3. Under “Sharing on Facebook,” click on “Custom” and then click “Customize settings.”
4. This page consists of 3 sections: “Things I Share,” “Things Others Share,” and “Contact Information.” Let’s start with the “Things I Share” section. Use the drop down menus on the right side of your screen to choose with whom you wish to share your information. Also, make sure the box next to “Enable” is not checked where it says “Include me in ‘People here now’ after I check in.”
5. Next, scroll down to the “Things others share” section. Use the drop down menus on the right side of your screen to choose with whom you wish to view this information.
6. If you’ve already updated to Facebook’s new profile page, recently tagged photos of you may appear at the top of your profile, so be sure to click “Edit Settings” under the “Photos and videos I’m tagged in” section. When the pop-up window appears, use the drop down menu to alter who can see these images. We recommend you set this to “Only me.” Hit “OK” to apply.
7. Now, scroll down to the “Contact information” section. Again, use the drop down menus on the right side of your screen to change with whom you wish to share this information.
8. Scroll to the top of this Customize settings page and click “Preview my Profile” to make sure that your new settings have all been applied.

Controlling Privacy While Using Apps, games and websites

By way of apps, games and websurfing, third parties can access information about Facebook users. In the past, these third parties had the ability to collect any information that users granted them access to in their profiles. More recently, however, Facebook has added a feature in which third-party developers can also access users’ contact information (including current addresses and mobile phone numbers), a power not previously granted. [4] Facebook users may unknowingly opt-in to this feature when they allow apps to access their information via the Request for Permission window, which may look familiar to you:

(Graphic above captured from developer Jeff Bowen’s Facebook Developer blog) [1]

To protect your privacy while using apps, games and other websites, follow these steps:

1. Log into your Facebook account and click “Account” located on the upper right hand corner of your screen.
2. Drop down to “Privacy Settings” and click.
3. Scroll down to “Apps and websites” and click “Edit your settings.”
4. By default, applications on Facebook have access to your friends list and any other information you have chosen to share with everyone. On this page, you’ll want to make some significant changes. Under the “Apps you use” section, click “Edit settings.” A new page will open.
5. Here, you’ll find a list of all the apps you use on Facebook. Click the “x” on the right side of your screen to delete any unwanted apps that you may no longer use. Click “Remove” on the pop-up window that appears to apply. A second pop-up window appears to confirm; click “OK.” Continue this step for all other apps that you wish to delete.
6. For the apps you want to keep, click “Edit settings” on the right side of your screen. A list of profile information that the app has access to appears. You will notice that most apps have access to a tremendous amount of your information.  If you are uncomfortable with these settings, simply click “Remove app” at the top of this list, click “Remove” on the pop-up window, and then click “OK” to confirm. Otherwise, click “Close section” to return to the full app list. Continue this step for all other apps that you wish to examine.
7. Scroll to the top of this Apps you use page and click “Back to app privacy” to return to your privacy settings.
8. Now that you are back on the Apps, games and websites” page, let’s edit the information you share with friends while using apps and websites. Under “Information accessible through your friends,” click “Edit settings” on the right side of your screen. A pop-up window will appear.
9. Uncheck any information on this list that you wish to keep private. Click “Save Changes” to apply.
10. Next, click the drop down menu on the right side of your screen next to “Game and app activity.” We recommend you choose “Custom” to edit your settings. On the pop-up window that appears, use the drop down menu to make this visible to “Only me.” Click “Save setting” to apply.
11. Last but not least, under the “Public search” section, click “Edit settings” on the right side of your screen. A new page will open. Uncheck “Enable public search” to keep your profile out of Facebook’s search engine.
12. Click “Back to apps” to return to the previous page.

Remember, it’s important to check your privacy settings for apps, games and websites fairly often, as you may grant access to your information to new applications without even realizing it. Facebook, however, does not actually guarantee that information you’ve already shared with a third party will be deleted. Instead, they recommend that users contact the application developers directly. [8]

Helpful Online Resources

Electronic Privacy Information Center
Connect Safely
Federal Trade Commission
Privacy Rights Clearinghouse
Privacy.org
Electronic Frontier Foundation
Center for Digital Democracy
Truste

References

1. Facebook Developer blog. Facebook.com. Retrieved on January 16, 2011.
2. Fowler, Geoffrey A. and Steel, Emily. (2010, October 18). “Facebook in Privacy Breach.” WSJ.com. Retrieved on January 16, 2011.
3. Gannes, Liz. (2010, April 21). “Facebook: The Entire Web Will Be Social.” Gigaom.com. Retrieved on January 16, 2011.
4. Jackson, Nicholas. (2011, January 16). “The Next Facebook Privacy Scandal: Sharing Phone Numbers, Addresses.” TheAtlantic.com. Retrieved on January 16, 2011.
5. Kerpen, Carrie and Kerpen, Dave. (2010, December 29). “5 Simple Social Media Predictions for 2011.” Likeable.com. Retrieved on January 15, 2011.
6. Kiss, Jemima. (2011, January 16). “Facebook leaps into future as smartphones prepare to get smarter.” The Observer. Retrieved on January 16, 2011.
7. Makan, Jami. (2011, January 10). “10 Things Facebook Won’t Say.” SmartMoney.com. Retrieved on January 16, 2011.
8. McCarthy, Caroline. (2010, October 25). “What Does Facebook Really Know About You?” CBSNews.com. Retrieved on January 16, 2011.
9. “The Internet Crime Complaint Center Hits 2 Million!” (2010, November 15). IC3.gov. Retrieved on January 16, 2011.
10. Whittaker, Zack. (2011, January 3). “January 2011: The Definitive Facebook Lockdown Guide- Securing the miscellaneous bits.” ZDNet.com. Retrieved on January 16, 2011.