Survey: 60% Of Facebook Consider Quitting Over Privacy
Facebook has been in the news a lot lately, but not for reasons that
the service is particularly proud of. For as many million users as it
has, Facebook's biggest issue now is dealing with pundits and those who
are focused on privacy holes that need to be patched up. Facebook is
quickly garnering a negative reputation, one that sees the service as
careless with user information and incapable of effectively protecting
images and other personal data. Basically, the trust in Facebook has
been questioned lately, and it has led to more than a few high-profile
"Facebook deletions," where Web celebs are removing their accounts
entirely in the name of privacy.
Of course, polling the general public during a time when the media is harping on how poorly Facebook is handling privacy will skew results, but it's safe to say that Facebook has a real issue on their hands. A new Sophos poll, conducted online, shows that over half (60%) of those who answered are at least considering the removal of their profile from the Internet. Quitting Facebook seems like a pretty big leap of faith when social networking is just now starting to really explode, but with the advent of Twitter, LinkedIn, MySpace, etc., people definitely have options.
A full 16% of those polled said that they have already yanked their Facebook profile in order to rest easier. While it's possible that many of these users will reconsider when the media fire slows, this makes clear that users are seriously concerned with privacy. They no longer want companies to disregard their privacy rights; on the contrary, they want it to be a top priority. Facebook has added some extra privacy options in the past few months, but you have to go digging for them. By default, most everything you post or upload is visible to the world at large.
So, are you in the 60%? Not worried over privacy at all? Have faith that Facebook will turn things around? Either way, it's definitely getting people to think about privacy and the online world, which is something that has been needed for years.
Of course, polling the general public during a time when the media is harping on how poorly Facebook is handling privacy will skew results, but it's safe to say that Facebook has a real issue on their hands. A new Sophos poll, conducted online, shows that over half (60%) of those who answered are at least considering the removal of their profile from the Internet. Quitting Facebook seems like a pretty big leap of faith when social networking is just now starting to really explode, but with the advent of Twitter, LinkedIn, MySpace, etc., people definitely have options.
A full 16% of those polled said that they have already yanked their Facebook profile in order to rest easier. While it's possible that many of these users will reconsider when the media fire slows, this makes clear that users are seriously concerned with privacy. They no longer want companies to disregard their privacy rights; on the contrary, they want it to be a top priority. Facebook has added some extra privacy options in the past few months, but you have to go digging for them. By default, most everything you post or upload is visible to the world at large.
So, are you in the 60%? Not worried over privacy at all? Have faith that Facebook will turn things around? Either way, it's definitely getting people to think about privacy and the online world, which is something that has been needed for years.
