Facebook’s constant battle on privacy issues is a boon to Google+ who’s sorted out this issue well with Circles. On the ease of use for privacy on what is or isn’t shared, Google+ is a clear winner. Google learned a lesson from the launch of Buzz and no doubt closely looking at Facebook’s approach to this issue. Facebook has suffered a number of privacy scares as it has grown.
Facebook, in my opinion, gets default privacy settings wrong. Unless you actively investigate your settings, Facebook will automatically share your Status, Photos, Posts, Bio and Family/Relationship info with everyone! Worse still, this is the recommended setting.
Google+ does this differently. As you create your profile, you set up who can see what as you go. This gets users involved with privacy settings right from the start, which I think is a much better approach.
Some people don't like being tagged, meaning their Facebook experience revolves around quickly responding to notification emails, jumping in and un-tagging themselves from images. Google+ by default lets people in your Circles tag you in images, but you can change this so your approval is required for tagging. Approval for tagging is an excellent feature that stops any embarrassing/unwanted photos taking you by surprise!
Facebook's privacy options have changed a lot over the years, and have certainly improved. However, they still need tighter default settings. There are still many users who may not be tech-savvy enough to realize how much they share publicly on Facebook. Google+, with its Circles feature, makes controlling who sees what very easy. Privacy settings are also more flexible, and your images are much easier to control. It looks like Google has listened to people's concerns about Facebook privacy, and made a social network/sharing experience that is built on user control of data.
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Regards,
Yvonne Mwajuma