facebook thrives on the use of features which while potentially “cool” to some, have aspects which are of some concern

In my Post about Better Privacy tips, in the comments I alluded to today’s post.

I think that this new feature of facebook – which is not “voluntary” is, frankly, creepy. It also opens the portal for real abuse.

Engadget reported this feature in April and in the comments was:

“Awesome! Now I can take pictures of cute girls at the grocery store or at the park, upload them and Facebook will tell me who they are! (I'm pretty sure that’s not [how] it works but I’m sure it will get there.)” – Inzombiak

He/she is correct: That’s not how it works. Yet.

However: Security companies do this all the time, and it’s really a privacy violation if done on a website and not as an identification measure to afford access within a company or branch of the government. That’s creepy enough anyway in this age of plastic surgery.

“Facebook engineer Justin Mitchell explained in a blog post that the social network, boasting more than 500 million users worldwide, took several steps to ensure that another privacy fiasco wouldn't break out. If you don't want your name suggested in other people's albums, you can disable the feature from the site's privacy settings menu. This way, your name will no longer be suggested in photo tags, but (again, depending on your settings) your friends will be able to tag you manually in photos.  Facebook says that more than 100 million people tag photos every day, making the photos application probably more popular than any other dedicated photo-sharing service on the Internet. In September, Facebook also introduced some other improvements to photos, such as higher resolution uploads, a new photo viewer, and easier tagging and uploading.” – PCWorld

Honestly? For folks who wish to share photos, and understand what they’re doing and sacrificing: Fine.

I think Facebook needs to do one really simple thing. Well, three:

1. When joining, a complete list of features current at that point in time their potential advantages and disadvantages should be given and required to review to the end with a ‘tick’ box “Opt in” or “Opt out” next to each one.

2. No more of this automatic crap: The “default” setting should be “Opt out”.

3. Every time features change, on the sign in page (also no “Remain signed in” option), the NEW complete list should be posted and required review be performed.

Might stop a lot of the crud that happens there, but it won’t stop you from making a wiener of yourself.

*sigh. I promised myself I wouldn’t go there.

Added at time of publication:

Beware New facebook “Enable Dislike Button” scam now spreading in facebook. – ZDnet

Please read about it via the last link below.

Sources:

http://www.engadget.com/2011/04/05/facebook-planning-facial-recognition-for-picture-uploads/#comments

http://www.pcworld.com/article/226228/facebook_facial_recognition_its_quiet_rise_and_dangerous_future.html#tk.mod_rel

http://www.pcworld.com/article/213894/facebook_adds_facial_recognition_to_make_photo_tagging_easier.html

http://www.zdnet.com/blog/security/enable-dislike-button-scam-spreading-on-facebook/8655