Communications Major

The Facebook privacy hoax is making the rounds again. You know the one; it is practically impossible to not have stumbled across some variation on the theme in your newsfeed. These posts, with their almost-official-sounding language forming a big block of text, have been around for years, and while their specific wording and typos may vary, they all have one fundamental thing in common: They don’t work. Nothing you can say in your profile can override whatever you already agreed to in Facebook’s terms of service.

Social networks put identity at the center of our online lives. Is it too late to turn back?  Secret, a new semi-anonymous confession app, is an app shows us, for the first time, what anonymity looks and feels like on a post-Facebook internet.

Facebook has created couples profile pages on behalf of all those listed as "in relationships" on the site. It’s cringeworthy and far too interventionist, writes Emma Barnett. Caveat: It can only create this page for you and your beloved if you list each other as who you are "in a relationship" with or "married" to. If you've simply identified yourself as "in a relationship", "married", or the oddly curious "it's complicated"  -- you're safe (for now). 

In practice, adjusting Facebook’s dozens of privacy controls can be tedious and confusing. Company executives realize that the complexity is a concern. Facebook has compiled answers to 50 frequently asked questions about privacy, offers tips at a central site and has a community forum where users try to help one another. Over the last couple of years, Facebook has also altered the service to put relevant privacy controls next to each piece of information you are sharing.