Public vs. Private: the online debate
Written by Cassie Licari & Dominique Houle on 22/07/10
If you’re reading this, chances are you’re an avid participant in the internet world, who loves going online to explore and connect with friends. The internet is an awesome piece of technology that has made our lives easier and more convenient. We have the world at our fingertips: instant messaging with friends, emails, online games, webcam-based chat and an endless amount of information is all available to us. Despite these positive advances, some people may take advantage of this means of communication and try and exploit others. So being informed on how to properly set our online privacy settings can help us ensure our internet experiences are positive ones!
Privacy Settings
Privacy settings are controls on social networking websites which allow you to change and adjust the information that people see on your profile. Managing these settings allows us to get the most out of our online experience (by sharing photos, videos and information with close friends and family), but at the same time preventing those you don’t know from seeing this information.
Let’s take a look at some of the ways you can control your privacy settings on a couple of the more popular social networking sites…
Facebook vs. Myspace
Facebook has recently updated its privacy controls to allow users to have an increased amount of control over the privacy of their online profiles. However, users must go in and set these settings for their profile. These new settings allow users to determine who sees what information on their profile. Users are able to set specific privacy controls for an individual person on their “friends” list, letting them pick and choose the information they wish to share with that person.
There are various areas in your profile where you can control your privacy settings. These areas include the sections; basic information, contact information, and other categories such as: status updates, tagged photos, wall posts, etc. For each of these categories you can decide who you want to see this information; friends, networks, friends of friends, etc. Basically, you can choose to share your information with a very small number of people, or you can make your profile visible to a wide number of people you may not know (Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada).
You can also adjust who sees you in a public search on Facebook (friends, non-friends, those in your networks) and what information they are allowed to see when they search for you, such as: your picture, contact information, or even your whole profile. Those who you have in your “friends” list will always be able to find you in a search ( Privacy Commissioner ).
Myspace is another website that allows users to adjust what people see on their profiles. For example, you can decide whether or not to display your birthday to those on your “friends list.” You can also decide whether to allow everyone on Myspace to see your profile or to limit visibility to just your “friends”, etc. ( Privacy Commissioner).
Myspace users can regulate the amount of spam they receive, as well as notifications they receive for things like emails, friend requests and event invitations. Users can also decide whether they want to receive notifications or share their personal information for applications that their friends have installed. Here, you are also able to see what applications you are using on Myspace as well as the ones you have blocked ( Privacy Commissioner).
There are more areas on Facebook and Myspace that you can adjust to suit your privacy preferences. You can also contact those who work for these websites if you have any questions or concerns about your privacy settings. For information on additional social networking sites, click here.
For more information on internet safety, and to learn how to set up a safe profile, visit our Knowzone section!
Links
Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada
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