Facebook updated their Privacy Policy on December 9.  I’ve now started seeing this type of post making its rounds on Facebook and it is NOT completely true and it misleads people:

As of today, Facebook will automatically index all your info on Google, which allows everyone to view it.  To change this option, go to Settings –> Privacy Settings –> Search –> then UN-CLICK the box that says ‘Allow indexing’.

Google, Yahoo, Bing and other search engines “index” content on the web (kind of like taking a copy of it) and then place it in their search engine results when someone searches on applicable keywords.  There are a couple of things you can do in Facebook to control this:

1.  If you do not want any of your Facebook content indexed and placed in web search results, then yes, by all means change your Privacy Search Settings and unclick the Allow box.  (This means friends and others will not be able to search on your name, using a search engine, and find a link in the search results for your Facebook profile, etc…  It also means your Business Fan Page will not be indexed and available in search engine results so give your decision careful consideration if you are promoting your business on Facebook!)

2.  If you want SOME of your Facebook content to be indexed and placed in search engine results so it’s easier for friends, potential employers or clients to find you or your fan page…then make sure you ALLOW indexing in the Privacy Search Settings…and then adjust your Privacy Settings for each type of content you have control over.

After you click on each of the above privacy categories in Facebook, you will have choices for how you share different types of content.

Your privacy setting choices are:

• Everyone (this will be indexed by search engines if you Allow indexing)
• Friends of Friends (means friends and their friends)
• Only Friends
• Customize

If you click Customize, you have the following choices:

• Friends of Friends
• Only Friends
• Specific People (or an entire Friend List)
• Only Me
• You can also exclude people (or an entire Friend List) from viewing your content.

As you can see, there is a lot you can do to control the information you share by adjusting your Facebook Privacy Settings.

A Note On What’s Changed: If you previously had your privacy settings set to Allow Indexing, the indexing has been going on for a long time.  What changed is that now if you Allow Indexing, any content that you SHARE WITH EVERYONE, according to your privacy settings or your publisher control settings, will be indexed.  Sharing with Everyone means everyone on Facebook AND everyone on the internet.  If you do not want to share with everyone, simply change your privacy settings for each type of content.

If you would like help understanding and adjusting your Facebook Privacy Settings, please contact me about my virtual consulting/training services.

Your Facebook Informant,
Kimberly Yow

Become a Fan of my Fan Page:  Social Networking 4 Biz

There are numerous Facebook Privacy Settings that you can adjust to customize who you interact with and who sees your profile & wall posts on Facebook.  Before jumping to the settings, determine how you want to use Facebook:

• Do you want to use Facebook for business or just for personal use?
• Do you want to have a Fan Page for your business?
• Do you want to connect with people you know if they send you a “friend” invite?
• Do you want to post things on your personal wall & profile?
• Do you want to interact with only family and real-life friends?

How private do you want your Facebook profile and communications to be?:

• Do you want Facebook users to be able to send you a message through Facebook?
• Do you want people to invite you to be a Facebook friend?
• Do you want Facebook friends to post on your wall?
• Do you want clients/prospects to see what your friends post on your wall?
• Do you want clients/prospects to see what YOU post on your personal wall/profile?
• Do you want only certain categories of Facebook friends (college buddies, family, work friends, etc…) to see your wall?

Once you are clear about how you want to use Facebook and how private you want to be, you can adjust your Facebook Privacy Settings so they are inline with your level of comfort.  Click on Settings/Privacy Settings in the upper right hand corner of your Facebook screen and you’ll see a screen that looks like this:

Facebook Privacy Settings

Take time to look at each setting and determine what you want to adjust.  You can always go back and tweak a setting if you change your mind.

Before reading this post, did you know that you could adjust your Privacy Settings?  Have you had problems on Facebook trying to juggle clients, Facebook friends and real-life friends?  Leave a comment below and let us know.

Your Facebook Informant,
Kimberly Yow

Facebook Fan Page:  Social Networking 4 Biz