(1 votes, average: 4 out of 5)
Loading ...I’m pretty sure I just opted out of Beacon.
Wait a minute. Just exactly WHAT IS Beacon?
Is it that “service” that “allows” us to “let our friends know what we’re up to” outside of Facebook? You know, the one we involuntarily became part of by simply having a profile with friends on Facebook?
Or is it the other deeper - but less tangible - thing. The whole “following” thing. The following of me (and something like 50 million others along with supposedly with just about everyone else on the ‘net) when I happen upon a site that has partnered with Facebook. Where they, the partner sites, that send data to Facebook?
Anyway, I (think) I’ve opted out of the former. But they sure as hell make it unclear.
I clicked on “Privacy” - made sense - and came upon a series of choices. In the first section, I had to decide between “Newsfeed and Minifeed” (because that’s where the stories show up), “Applications” (because I guess that Beacon is an application - isn’t it?), and the last listing which was “External Websites”.
No large notice pointing people in the direction of their quest. No clear cut pathway to opting out. Why not add the word “Beacon “?
Speaking of words, I love the way they present them. Tiny print. There’s a white background, “External Websites” is in blue. And the color of the words used to describe the actions one will can take by clicking on: “You can edit your privacy settings for external websites sending stories to your profile” is a very light gray…on that white background. Specifically designed to blend in with the background, once again making it all that more difficult to get out of the damn thing.
By clicking on “Exteral Websites” you come to another page where they try to re-sell you on the concept of what they’re doing: “Show your friends what you like and what you’re up to outside of Facebook. When you take actions on the sites listed below, you can choose to have those actions sent to your profile.”
The site’s a mess with all sorts of fonts and colors but down below, once again, in light gray, you’ve got “Don’t allow any websites to send stories to my profile.” Barely able to see it as the tiny font blends into the background and is indented unnecessarily.Facebook is going out of their way to make it as difficult as possible. There is no concern for the person simply trying to opt out. Those who hadn’t been following this issue but find out about in the future are simply not going to be able to opt out. They won’t be able to find it.And they’re still following me around the net.
Filed under: Abraham Harrison LLC, Facebook, Facebook Apps, Facebook Beacon, Online Privacy, Privacy
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