Concerned Facebook users should use 'private' settings

New Zealanders concerned about Facebook can share their views with the Privacy Commission. Photo / Daily Post

Unsure of your new Facebook privacy settings? Set everything to "private", says the Privacy Commissioner.

Commissioner Marie Shroff is warning that changes to Facebook allows personal information to be shared with external websites.

"I would recommend that if you are unsure about your privacy settings that you set all your Facebook settings to "private" and then choose what you want to open up," Ms Shroff said.

Recent changes to the social networking site included an "Instant Personalisation Pilot Program" which shares personal information with external websites to tailor browsing experiences.

Other applications also share information with third parties, while information can also be shared by Facebook friends.

Ms Shroff said users were not alerted to added settings, which were made public by default, and had to go through them line-by-line to control their privacy settings.

"This has added a whole new layer of settings to the ones already there. You have to go through these line by line to control your privacy settings. We understand that users were not alerted to these added settings," Ms Shroff said.

She said Facebook should be communicating more often with its users.

The New York Times reported that to opt out of full disclosure of most information, it was necessary to click through more than 50 privacy buttons and a total of more than 170 options.

Ms Shroff said the commission was liaising with overseas privacy regulators about Facebook's privacy issues.

She said New Zealanders unsure about their privacy settings should set all Facebook settings to "private" and then choose what they want to open up.

New Zealanders concerned about Facebook could share their views with the Privacy Commission via enquiries@privacy.org.nz or with Facebook at www.facebook.com/fbsitgovernance..

The results of a commission survey released this month indicated 83 per cent of Kiwis were concerned about the security of their personal information on the internet.

- with NZPA