New Facebook Home And Your Privacy

The New Facebook Home, which is designed for Android phones, is getting a lot of attention. It is a wrapper that sits on top of the system and allows for easy access to Facebook.

However, what many people want to know is how much this new software product interacts with and even severely interferes with privacy. Is Facebook overstepping its users' rights to privacy?

What Is Facebook Home?

The Facebook Home software sits on top of the Android operating system. This way, when the user sees his or her home screen, you can see right away what is occurring on the social media site.

In other words, it is no longer necessary for the user to click on a widget or to use any of the normal icons to access Facebook. Rather, all of the things happening on his or her Facebook page are presented on the home screen. This includes all of your chats, messages, photos and more.

Facebook's Changes

This is not the first time that Facebook has come under fire for its privacy settings and overall potential disregard for privacy. However, in the last few months, it seems the company was taking action to improve this by improved access to privacy settings, making it easier for users to control privacy.

Now, the company is coming under fire again, this time for what could be another privacy invasion with Facebook Home. Is there a security threat now? According to the Facebook team, there is no risk to personal data. Still, some users are worried, which prompted the company to provide more details on security and privacy issues.

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The Answers

In order to answer some of the questions regarding these privacy concerns, the county's Chief Privacy Officer, Erin Egan, and Chief Privacy Officer of Products, Michael Richter, answered some specific questions.

Is data being collected? The company stated that the only data being collected was that which users allow Facebook to see. That means all data settings you have in place on the site remain in place. This was one of the biggest concerns individuals had. In other words, Facebook Home will collect information when you interact with the site. This includes when you comment on a status update or link.

The company also stated that Facebook Home can tell when you launch a new app on the phone you are using. However, it cannot tell what you are doing with that app. It will not see what information you input into those apps, though it will be able to collect information about which apps you are using.

To explain this, the company stated that the Facebook Home application would be able to notice that you opened a map application on your phone. However, it would not receive any information about the directions you inputted into that app, including your requests for a destination location.

Is It the Only Option?

For those who are not too sure about how they will like the use of Facebook Home, there is some good news. You can still use Facebook on your mobile phone without using this application. You can also switch off Home if you are unsure about it at any point, meaning the tool will not be able to gather information at all and your privacy settings remain.

   Ryan Corey

About the Guest Author:

This article was brought to you by Ryan Corey of TrainACE PMP training Northern Virginia.