Privacy in Social MediaPersonal Learning Project

DU-GNED1481 - Kevin Baker

Online ProfilesSocial media links people together from all

over the worldWith the click of a mouse or the touch of a

finger you can learn many things about somebody you’ve never met before

Facebook, Twitter, Google+ and Instagram all have profiles where you can view and see the person’s name, date of birth, hometown etc.

Privacy FeaturesSocial media platforms usually offer some

sort of security measuresFacebook allows you to only be seen by

friends of friends or only your current friendsTwitter has the option of protecting your

tweets, only allowing approved followers to view your thoughts

Google+ has the option of disabling the ability for somebody to re share a post you have made

Creating Your AccountSocial media websites always ask for private

information when creating a user accountYour first and last name and your age,

including date of birth are almost always asked for

Typically you will also be asked where you live, city and country

Retrieving Username or PasswordWhen you create an account on Facebook,

Twitter and Google+ for example, you are asked security questions in case you forget your username or password

These questions usually ask for personal information

Facebook and Twitter both ask for your phone number if you can’t remember the email address used when you created the account

Who Has Access to this Information?When you put your information on the

internet it is available to many peopleSocial Media websites get the funding they

need to run from the usersWhen you sign up for Twitter or Facebook

you don’t pay money but you do pay with your personal information

These social media platforms give your information to companies

Clicking Away Your PrivacyBy using Social Networks you leave yourself

vulnerable to having your personal information on the web for many people to see and take advantage of

Facebook is the best at tricking you into allowing large companies to use your info

Facebook offers games on users’ timelines, once you click the button to play the game you have just given permission for your personal information to be used and you probably were not aware

Large Companies and Your Personal InformationMany large companies use social media to

market their products the best way possible, by knowing many personal things about the consumers

Facebook gives out users information to companies so that they can continue to run the website

In Japan, Nissen Co. LTD is a catalog company that actually personalizes over 200 million catalogs to individuals based on the information retrieved from Facebook (Siciliano, 2009)

Deleting A Social Media AccountIf you decide you want to simply delete your twitter

handle, Facebook profile or Instagram account think again

With Facebook you can only “deactivate” your account meaning that information is never gone

On Twitter you can delete your account but your tweets can still be viewed, they will always be on the web

Once you delete your Instagram account you may think you won’t see your photos online anymore but a company may already be using your photo for advertising courtesy of Instagram

Location DataThe most popular social media websites

today now have a feature that shows your location when you tweet, post a picture or update your status

This allows anybody to know your location once you make a post

Terms of ServiceWhenever a person signs up for an account on a social media website

there is always a terms of service or conditions page(s)The print is usually small and very dull which in turn makes it

difficult for the users to actually focus, read and understand what the terms and conditions are

In 2011 a survey done in the UK showed that only about 7% of people actually read the terms of service (Smithers, 2011)

The same survey showed that 58% of adults said they would rather read an instruction manual and 12% would rather read the phonebook (Smithers, 2011)

There were 21% of people polled that have actually been harmed by not reading the terms and conditions (Smithers,2011)

The terms and conditions usually hold very valuable information. For instance the instagram terms of service state that they are allowed to be paid by companies for the right to display your username, photos and location date (Patel, 2013)

Identity TheftSocial Media accounts make it very easy to be targeted

by someone who may try to steal your identityAccording to PC World, about one third of social

networkers have a minimum of three pieces of information available on their profiles that could lead to identity theft (Siciliano, 2009)

Information such as names, phone numbers, addresses, and mothers’ maiden names are just a few of the things that could help a thief steal your identity

When polled about privacy issues with social networking, 80% of people say they are concerned yet about 60% of them don’t even know their own privacy settings on their profiles (Siciliano, 2009)

The Good and The BadPros of Social Networking

Cons of Social Networking

Easy to useFast and effective

for keeping in touch with friends and family

Stay connected to the world

Creates great business opportunities

Without proper precautions your privacy can be invaded

Can sometimes lead to conflicts between work life and personal life

Your data can not be easily removed from the internet once it is posted

ConclusionAfter doing research on the topic of privacy within the world of

Social Media I have discovered how unsafe users are with their information

Nobody would go to a complete stranger on the street and start showing them photos of themselves or their family or friends but we would allow them to view our Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Google+ profiles

Without taking proper precautions through the many privacy features available with Social Media networking websites we leave ourselves vulnerable to problems such as identity theft

Social Networking does have it’s upsides but with good there usually is some bad

All in all if we just take that extra time to turn on some privacy features, read the terms and conditions and just have some discretion then we can all enjoy the many wonders of Social Media

References Badminton, N. (2012, November 30). Nikolas Badminton: Who's in Charge of Social Media Privacy?.

Breaking News and Opinion on The Huffington Post. Retrieved February 28, 2013, from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/nikolas-badminton/whos-in-charge-of-social-_b_2220624.html

Charkham, A. (2012, August 25). 5 Design Tricks Facebook Uses To Affect Your Privacy Decisions | TechCrunch. TechCrunch. Retrieved February 28, 2013, from http://techcrunch.com/2012/08/25/5-design-tricks-facebook-uses-to-affect-your-privacy-decisions/

Hill, K. (2012, October 25). How A Company Takes Full Advantage Of Access To Your Facebook Information - Forbes. Information for the World's Business Leaders - Forbes.com. Retrieved February 28, 2013, from http://www.forbes.com/sites/kashmirhill/2012/10/25/how-a-company-takes-full-advantage-of-your-facebook-information

Komando, K. (2011, December 8). How safe is your Facebook profile – USATODAY.com. USA TODAY: Latest World and US News - USATODAY.com. Retrieved February 28, 2013, from http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/tech/columnist/kimkomando/story/2011-12-09/facebook-privacy-settings/51748420/1

Patel, N. (2012, December 18). No, Instagram can't sell your photos: what the new terms of service really mean | The Verge. The Verge. Retrieved February 28, 2013, from http://www.theverge.com/2012/12/18/3780158/instagrams-new-terms-of-service-what-they-really-mean

Siciliano, R. (2009, July 23). Robert Siciliano: Identity Theft Committed Using Social Networks. Breaking News and Opinion on The Huffington Post. Retrieved February 28, 2013, from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/robert-siciliano/identity-theft-commited-u_b_243305.html

Smithers, R. (2011, May 11). Terms and conditions: not reading the small print can mean big problems | Money | guardian.co.uk . Latest US news, world news, sport and comment from the Guardian | guardiannews.com | The Guardian . Retrieved February 28, 2013, from http://www.guardian.co.uk/money/2011/may/11/terms-conditions-small-print-big-problems