 The importance of privacy
Tallulah Habib
In all the glory of social networking, how often do we forget to take into account our own safety?
Google's new Buzz feature has come under fire for privacy invasion, with advocacy group The Electronic Information Privacy Centre (Epic) saying: “The new service violates user expectations, diminishes user privacy, and contradicts Google’s privacy policy.” In San Francisco a class action suit is being filed against them. “Why all the fuss?” you may ask.
Facebook's Mark Zuckerburg may [argue that privacy is a thing of the past] (link: http://www.theregister.co.uk/2010/01/11/facebook_norm/), but privacy can often be more than just a preference – it can be about safety. Social networking can (and will) tempt you to reveal all kinds of information. Sometimes you can hold a company (such as Google) responsible, but sometimes the onus is on you to decide just how much you want the general public to know.
A recent example is the social networking game Foursquare, which enables you to discover new people and places and earn points each time you “check in” at a location by sending your whereabouts to Twitter. Aside from being an ideal tool for stalkers, here's something else to worry about: three guys calling themselves “Forthehack” put up a website last week called [Please Rob Me] (link:http://pleaserobme.com/about). The site broadcasts search results of people using Foursquare leaving home and, therefore, leaving their houses empty. This, combined with data gleaned when users post their addresses as locations for get-togethers, could be very helpful for burglars.
Amid claims of irresponsibility, Forthehack argues: “The goal of this website is to raise some awareness on this issue and have people think about how they use services like Foursquare, Brightkite, Google Buzz, etc. Because all this site is is a dressed up Twitter search page. Everybody can get this information.”
If you think that is scary, what about something like [Stweet] (link: http://www.we-love-the.net/Stweet/ ), which combines Google Maps Street View with location-based tweeting? Not only will the application show complete strangers your tweets, but it will also show them the very building the tweet came from. If you, like a girl in Dallas, Texas, are upset with your work colleagues and post about it, saying “I work with f**ktards,” you'd better make sure they aren't watching Stweet.
In order to protect yourself, remember what your mother told you: don't talk to strangers and definitely don't give them your address! Make sure you know what your privacy settings are online and how to change them.
Check out our Tips and Tricks section today for how to edit these settings on Google Buzz.
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