<p>I searched for a similar thread but couldn’t find one - hope this is not a repeat. </p>
<p>With respect to privacy concerns and Facebook, they are at it again over there. Facebook Places allows someone else to tag your real-time location. It’s along the model of Four Square and other similar geotracking websites and now the <em>default</em> setting on all Facebook accounts. It’s not all that straightforward to opt out and no notification or obvious advance warning to users. You don’t have to have an iphone or a smart phone yourself to be tagged in this way - others who have one can tag you with or without your permission. This is pretty outrageous, IMO. </p>
<p>Too much information. What possible purpose will this privacy hack serve? Do your friends and employers really need to know where you posted your last status update?</p>
<p>Facebook is not a trustworthy business. I trust my credit card company with my personal information but I do not trust Facebook. They cannot be trusted with your personal information.</p>
<p>I’ve read a couple of articles lately about Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg’s poor track record of respecting his clientele’s privacy. Too bad MySpace kind of fizzled, but I’m sure there will be other options soon.</p>
<p>I really don’t see what the problem is with this. If you are at a restaurant with a friend, presumably you know if they are “checking in” at the location and you can ask them NOT to check you in as well. If you don’t check yourself in, then your location is not revealed. I have checked myself into airports, restaurants etc. with facebook Places and I’m not concerned about my privacy. If I’m going to post status updates (which I do), I really don’t care if people know that I am at the Denver airport! If I don’t want them to know, then I don’t check myself in. I doubt some random person is going to check me in.</p>
<p>I’m not familiar with Facebook Places but I just don’t “get” Four Square. Why do people think anyone cares where they are? A bit self absorbed? I have a couple of Facebook friends who do it and I have had to hide them so they’re updates don’t clog up the News Feed.</p>
<p>I’m thinking in terms of groups of people at a movie, club, restaurant, party or concert and having someone there who thinks it’s OK to tag everyone they can identify with or without their permission. I hope FB is sued and loses when someone inevitably gets their house broken into, are mugged, or worse after their location has been posted without their permission. You should have to opt in to something like this, not out.</p>
<p>If you don’t want friends to tag you you have to go through this:
"Log in to the Facebook site, click the “Account” menu at the top right of the page, and select “Privacy Settings.” Then click the privacy page’s “Customize settings” link.</p>
<p>First, click the menu to the right of “Places I check into” and select “Custom” if you don’t want every Facebook friend to see your check-ins. Instead, you can limit their visibility to particular pals and exclude others.</p>
<p>Second, click to clear the check box to the right of “Include me in ‘People Here Now’ after I check in” if it’s not already blank. This will stop strangers checking in at the same place from seeing you listed there.</p>
<p>Third, set the menu to the right of “Friends can check me in to Places” to “Disabled” to make sure well-meaning friends can’t announce your arrival for you.</p>
<p>Fourth, click back to the main privacy page, look under the “Applications and Websites” heading, and click the “Edit your settings” link under it. On that page, click the “Edit settings” link to the right of “Info accessible through your friends”; in that pop-up window, click to clear the check box next to “Places I check in to” to stop friends’ Facebook applications from using your Places data. "</p>
<p>Thanks, singersmom. I just disabled the Places setting. I didn’t even know about that new application until the recent news reports of it. I had been pretty good at keeping my privacy filter updated, too.</p>