Facebook privacy: Friend lists not public, after all
Perhaps the major point of contention from the Facebook privacy changes rolled out this week has been resolved.
Facebook product marketing manager Ana Muller, in an update to an update about the privacy policy revision, writes that in response to feedback, Facebook has removed the "View Friends" link from search results. In addition, when users complete the privacy transition we told you about on Wednesday, Muller points out that they can then select to hide their friend list from their profile.
If this all seems a little too, oh, inside-Facebook, it's because, well, it is. But there's a very vocal minority of Facebook users who take their presence and experience on the site very seriously. This time they got results, but they usually just get over it.
Remember in October when Facebook tweaked its news feed, dividing it into the Live Feed and News Feed sections? Users complained in droves, starting groups protesting the changes, and begged for the site to revert to its old ways.
And Facebook Lite? A dedicated group of users took umbrage with the slimmed-down, Twitter-like version of the site when it was announced. (But the answer there is simply 'um, don't use it.')
The last major Facebook about-face occurred in February, when the site's feet were held to the fire over changes made to its Terms of Service. At issue then was whether the site had the right to keep a user's data once his or her profile had been deleted. After an outburst of boos, Zuckerberg and co. retreated, urging discussion which eventually gave way to a Facebook Bill of Rights and Responsibilities.
The inevitable surge of ornery Facebook users after a change is so predictable that last time around a few pranksters turned it into a punchline, starting a group called “I AUTOMATICALLY HATE THE NEW FACEBOOK HOME PAGE." Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg reportedly joined.
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Glad Facebook concealed your freinds list? Couldn't care less? Let us know in the comments, or follow our Facebook coverage on Twitter.
