Warning About Facebook
I have had this post started for days! I have just been sort of out of it the last week or so and trying to get back into the swing of things. Taxes and ulcers in the eye can do that to a person!
I have a warning about Facebook that I want to share with you. I believe I have mentioned this before, but I feel it is worth it to mention again.
First, are you a fan of the Fanpage yet?
Back in June of 2009, I decided to delete my Facebook account that I had created for the "Hummie" ID and move towards just using the Fanpage. I don't think the rules at Facebook allow for fake account ID's, so I was trying to utilize the new Fanpages instead because, well, I'm one that likes to follow the rules. I know there are lots of people out there with fake ID's now and Facebook doesn't seem to mind.
On a whim, last week, I decided to log in to see what I could see. You can find the account here.
Yep, sure enough, the account was just as I had left it! My personal layouts were still there. How scary is that?
Ever since last June, in my personal Facebook page, I have made it a habit to delete things after they are a few weeks old. I feel better about doing this. I really do not need Facebook keeping a journal and log of my every bit of personal life. Do you?
If you go in now to begin deleting, you will notice that as you delete, even older posts will come to the bottom of your wall. I actually kept deleting as it continually brought up years worth of information on me. (Yes, I was on Facebook early on, so that I could see what my son was getting into. It's better to join them than to tell them no!)
Did you know that once you delete posts off your wall, they are not actually gone either? Other people can still see them in the "most recent news" or "top news" stream even after you delete them from you wall.
I can only hope that Facebook's cache eventually removes the things after they are deleted, but who really knows what they are up to. Somehow, I do not trust that things are really gone, even after deleted.
So, this is your warning! Do delete! If you care anything about your privacy, do delete! What would happen if I would die tomorrow? All of that stuff would forever be owned by Facebook!
I have a warning about Facebook that I want to share with you. I believe I have mentioned this before, but I feel it is worth it to mention again.
First, are you a fan of the Fanpage yet?
Back in June of 2009, I decided to delete my Facebook account that I had created for the "Hummie" ID and move towards just using the Fanpage. I don't think the rules at Facebook allow for fake account ID's, so I was trying to utilize the new Fanpages instead because, well, I'm one that likes to follow the rules. I know there are lots of people out there with fake ID's now and Facebook doesn't seem to mind.
I had discovered that Facebook does not let you delete your account, but merely deactivate it. I tried to remove and delete many things from my account before deactivating it. I had assumed that over time, Facebook would eventually remove the account from its cache. Certainly their servers cannot continue to add information and never get rid of the old, right?
When I deactivated my account, I was immediately told that I could reactivate it at any time by just logging in. What?
On a whim, last week, I decided to log in to see what I could see. You can find the account here.
Yep, sure enough, the account was just as I had left it! My personal layouts were still there. How scary is that?
Ever since last June, in my personal Facebook page, I have made it a habit to delete things after they are a few weeks old. I feel better about doing this. I really do not need Facebook keeping a journal and log of my every bit of personal life. Do you?
If you go in now to begin deleting, you will notice that as you delete, even older posts will come to the bottom of your wall. I actually kept deleting as it continually brought up years worth of information on me. (Yes, I was on Facebook early on, so that I could see what my son was getting into. It's better to join them than to tell them no!)
Did you know that once you delete posts off your wall, they are not actually gone either? Other people can still see them in the "most recent news" or "top news" stream even after you delete them from you wall.
I can only hope that Facebook's cache eventually removes the things after they are deleted, but who really knows what they are up to. Somehow, I do not trust that things are really gone, even after deleted.
So, this is your warning! Do delete! If you care anything about your privacy, do delete! What would happen if I would die tomorrow? All of that stuff would forever be owned by Facebook!
I had gotten this screenshot the other day, but it doesn't seem as funny today. I was on Facebook as they were changing the interface. It kept going from new to old and back again before my eyes. It actuality, it was frustrating.
1 comments:
Honestly, anything we post anywhere on the Internet is never gone. Twitter, digi-scrap forums, mommy forums ... someone out there somewhere might be saving a conversation you're having with them on Instant Messaging. I have conversations out there on mommy boards from when my marriage was rocky that I regret posting ... and they are there for perpetuity, and is what leads me to post this "anonymously" -- not that it isn't linked to my IP -- because I'm sure I said things I regret.
But yes, I do understand your warning about Facebook -- especially to those of us who haven't had this realization yet!
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