Facebook Inc. (NASDAQ:FB) is finally initializing a thorough review of how Facebook user’s privacy is being approached. A common complaint by many people has been that most users do not realize just how far their private information, such as their date of birth, and telephone number, gets spread. In response, Facebook has announced that it will be giving a privacy check to every single one of its 1.28 billion users.
Another big step forward is that Facebook is changing the initial privacy for new users to friends, instead of public. Facebook also committed to ensuring that new users fully understand the ramifications of changing their privacy setting to public, allowing anyone on the internet to see their photos, and messages. Many believe that the user by user review will shock many people when they finally realize just how far their private photos may have gone.
This marks a massive shift in Facebook’s attitude, as for most of its 10 year history it has been pushing its users to reveal more information publicly, despite complaints from regulators, and privacy supporters. With the rise in the popularity of other services that protect the privacy of their users, Facebook has been forced to adapt. This change could also be an attempt to derail any upcoming action by regulators, over its privacy practices, after its $19 billion purchase of WhatsApp.
This latest change comes on the back of several smaller concessions to privacy, such as adding a location sharing feature called ‘Nearby Friends’, that only provides an approximate location for a user. It has also changed the Facebook login, by allowing users to use their login for other sites, and apps.
