Gift to self: Check Facebook privacy settings
In this season of gift-giving, why not give one to yourself? Head to Facebook and review and update your privacy settings.
Anyone who's been on Facebook for more than a month already knows the site is constantly evolving. Features come. Features go. Privacy settings sometimes get tweaked without you knowing it, so it's always good to make checking your settings part of your monthly, or even weekly, routine.
I saw a Facebook status update from a friend over the weekend that prompted me to head directly to my Facebook privacy settings page. Here's the update:
"ATTENTION: As of today, there is a NEW PRIVACY setting called "InstantPersonalization" that shares data with non-Facebook websites and it is automatically set to "allow." Go to account > privacy settings > applications and websites > instant personalization> edit settings and uncheck "allow." BTW ... if ... your ... friends don't do this, they will be sharing information about you. PLEASE COPY & REPOST."
I followed the link path to the specific settings. Be aware that the actual wording is "apps and websites," and the link is in the lower-left corner of the privacy settings page.
There's a short video explaining the new instant personalization feature. It uses the popular Rotten Tomatoes website as an example of the integration with Facebook.
You can see the video and a list of sites partnering with Facebook to share your personal data at: www.facebook.com/instant_personalization
The personal information you make public is what's shared with other Facebook friends that visit the sharing sites. I choose to be very tight with what I share on Facebook, and have chosen not to participate in the new instant personalization feature.
Another point of note: the status update says the option to enable instant personalization is the default choice. The box was not checked in my account, but you're best off checking for yourself.
And give yourself a monthly gift of reviewing all your Facebook privacy settings.
You'll be glad you did.
