Privacy on Facebook

Blog readers: Welcome to my blog!

Considering this is my very first post, I wanted to dedicate it to something very dear to many students: Facebook. More specifically, privacy on Facebook.

I came across a very interesting article on Gizmodo, one of my favourite blogs that covers the latest developments in technology, design, and architecture. The article, titled, “Your Deleted Facebook Photos Still Aren’t Really Deleted,” can be found at:

http://gizmodo.com/5882703/your-deleted-facebook-photos-still-arent-really-deleted

The article states that although a user might delete a picture on Facebook, the picture would still be held on Facebook's servers. Even worse, anyone who had a static URL could still access that picture.

An employee of Ars Technica, a website that provides tech reviews and analysis, got in touch with Facebook on this matter. Apparently the Facebook servers that support photo storage weren't functioning properly. Although an image was deleted on Facebook, it wasn't removed from their servers. The spokesperson claims that Facebook is diligently working to rectify the situation. Their realistic goal is to have images permanently removed within 45 days.

As you can imagine, this raises a lot of issues about privacy on SNS. If anyone can access content that is meant to be hidden, or even deleted, sensitive or confidential information can get into the wrong hands.

Social Networking Sites (SNS), particularly Facebook, have received a great deal of criticism for how they handle a user's personal information. The controversy surrounding the introduction of the News Feed, and the use of Applications on Facebook, are just two examples that triggered much of this criticism. Facebook actually provides third party developers access to a user's profile and their personal information.

So, the next time you install an application on Facebook, take some time to read the Terms and Conditions. Try and understand what it is you're agreeing to. Put some value on your information and privacy. As Pete Seeger said, “Education is when you read the fine print; experience is what you get when you don't.”