Facebook, as you're well aware by this point, has a history
of privacy scandals. CEO Mark Zuckerberg is constantly trying to push what
privacy means in the 21st century — how transparent should we all be on the
Internet? — but with each step, a significant number of users push back. Last
month, Facebook announced on its Developers blog that it was making it possible
for third-party applications to gain access to users' mobile phone numbers and
addresses. By early Monday morning the Facebook team had dialed back the change
until further notice.
Some of the privacy issues have been just too much for users,
resulting in cancelled accounts. But more and more organizations are joining the
Facebook Connect network and incorporating the site's development tools into
their own. It's getting to the point where you're at a disadvantage if you don't
have a Facebook account; you can use it to log in with the same username and
password on more than two million sites — it's not just for checking in on your
cousin's newest baby pictures.
So, here's the trick: You can go nearly invisible on
Facebook — nobody will be able to view your photographs, see your activity or
where you've checked in except for existing friends — but still have an account
to use around the web.
If you're ready to move into Facebook stealth mode, follow
these simple steps:
• Visit Facebook.com, log in to your profile and click
'Account' in the top-right corner. From there, choose 'Privacy Settings.'
• From the 'Privacy Settings' page, click on 'View Settings'
to see who can search for you, send messages to your account, see your education
and work settings and more. Change all of these drop-down menus to 'Friends
Only.'
• Return to the 'Privacy Settings' page and choose 'Customize
Settings' near the bottom of the page. This new page will load a number of
different privacy options, but you'll want to click through each one and change
the setting to 'Only Me' so that nobody else can see your Facebook activity.
• Stay on the 'Customize Settings' page and scroll down to
'Things Others Share.' Here, you'll want to edit and disable settings so that
your friends are unable to write on your wall, comment on posts and check you in
to places.
• Return to the 'Privacy Settings' page and, under 'Apps and
Websites' in the bottom-left corner, select 'Edit Your Settings.' This page
shows all of the third-party websites and applications that you have given
access to some of your Facebook information. If you see anything on this list
that you want to remove, just click to remove it from the list.
• Stay on the 'Apps and Websites' page, scroll down to
'Instant Personalization' and select 'Edit Settings.' Uncheck the box at the
bottom of this page to block other websites from accessing your Facebook
interests. Select 'Confirm' when a pop-up asks you if you're sure you want to
disable this option.
• Return to the 'Apps and Websites' page, scroll down to
'Public Search' and select 'Edit Settings.' To keep search engines from finding
your Facebook profile, uncheck the box on this new screen.
