There Are Still Ways To Hide On Facebook Despite Changes To Privacy Settings
By Melony Roy
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) - Facebook got the attention of users when it eliminated the ability to hide your from anybody searching for you. But, there are still a few ways to hide on the social network.
CNET writer Jason Cipriani says, "Use a pseudonym, a fake name that really close friends and relatives will identify you by but random acquaintances and complete strangers would have no idea to recognize you through that name. It is a gray area with Facebook's terms and conditions but they're not going to go check every account, they're too big for that"
Another option is to avoid using a photo of yourself. "You may have a pseudonym or fake name but people are still going to be able to identify you so using a photo of maybe a TV show you like or an artist that you like, something along those lines and don't use photos of your kids because you are still identifiable though photos of your kids."
It's also a good idea to get into the habit of checking your privacy settings once a month because Facebook does not announce all changes.
"If you are posting a photo or if you are checking into a place or even a status update that maybe you like a page, whenever you post something whether it's from an android, iPhone or even on your computer, you want to make sure it is not set to public" Cipriani adds. And as for previous posts, there is an option under account settings to limit the audience to friends only.
"They make money based off of selling ads and the more information they have about us and the more public that information is, so they can use it to sell businesses on purchase ads to better target individual users they're going to keep pushing for it so the 1st step is making every account searchable."
Facebook says only a small percentage of the nearly 1.2 billion people on its network were using the privacy setting that's been eliminated. And they began phasing it out last year, removing the option for people who weren't already using it.
What do you think of Facebook's latest privacy change? Leave a comment below or on our Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/KYW
