Facebook’s New Settings Make Stalking Easier?

December 17, 2009 12:00 pm     Posted in Reality  Arielle - Quinnipiac University g+ page


By Arielle

It was just another daily Facebook-check when a message from Mark Zuckerberg appeared on the top of my newsfeed. Blah, blah, blah. Shut up, shut up, shut up. We know there are millions of users on Facebook – my mother is on it for God’s sake – no need to write us a message about it, Mark! (Yeah, we’re on first name basis.)

Bored, I closed the letter and contined on to my daily Facebook routine (you know you have one, too):
Check notifications
Check boyfriend’s page
Check cute guy in class’s page
Check for new photo albums of friends…

And then I typed in my ex-boyfriend’s name. We’re not friends on Facebook anymore (so dramatic), but I just have to check if he’s changed his picture!  Don’t judge – you know you do it.

And that’s when I saw it. All of it. I had access to his whole entire Facebook page! And when I clicked his new girlfriend’s name – just to see if her Facebook picture had changed or to see if we had any more friends in common than we had the day before – I had complete access to her profile, too! I was able to learn all about her, see all 111 of her photo albums (Note: I’ve limited myself to only view the ones since their relationship started. No need to see her receiving her high school diploma…) and glean the fact that she is a fan of Chelsea Handler. (Ugh. Why does this girl have to be cool?)

It was like I died and went to Facebook heaven. I just wanted to reach into my computer and lay a big, wet one on Mark Zuckerberg’s face.

How did this suddenly happen? And isn’t this the exact opposite of what “Privacy Settings” are supposed to do?

Well, it turns out Mark’s letter was explaining some changes, which most users don’t know about. Namely, that they actually need to do something to maintain the privacy settings they originally set up. And since they aren’t making those changes, I (and others like me who could basically graduate with a BA in Face-stalking) are now able to access all the juicy profiles we were once locked out of.

But don’t get so excited just yet. While this is great for hunting down that skank who stole your man, it also means that your profile is open for the perusing. Even more, these new changes now share your status updates and links with everyone on the Web. And your information is also being shared with other sites, such as DIGG.

That means that you gotta hop on over to FB right now and change those privacy settings. And while you’re at it, you should probably be a little more aware of what you say on the ol’ FB because you never know who’s reading it now. An emotional quote about your latest break up may make you feel better, but it’s going to annoy your friends not going to impress your future boss.

You may like these new settings (I know I do…). You may hate them. Regardless how you feel, Mark did try and warn us. Too bad most of us weren’t willing to give up valuable stalking time to hear him out.

23 Comments on "Facebook’s New Settings Make Stalking Easier?"

  1. Cory says:
    Thu, 17th Dec 200910:07 am 

    You're mother should definitely NOT be on facebook. She is probably way to computer illiterate to figure it out. I bet she asks you tons of questions about it, and then still can't figure it out!!!

  2. Dia says:
    Thu, 17th Dec 200911:27 am 

    I know what you mean about going on peoples facebooks your not friends with and being able to see ALL of their pics, i dont think anyone realized that you have to change the settings again. I change my settings frequently because i dont want any geek off the street browsing my pics. My profile is on lock down and i like it that way.

  3. Q says:
    Thu, 17th Dec 200912:40 pm 

    *your

    *too

  4. E says:
    Thu, 17th Dec 20092:27 pm 

    This change was fortunately timed with my hard-core finals studying last week. Goodbye, productivity. Hello, creeper status.

  5. eliz says:
    Thu, 17th Dec 20092:33 pm 

    I noticed this and I am totally taking advantage of it before everyone else finds out.. ha.

  6. Dee says:
    Thu, 17th Dec 20095:35 pm 

    lolz

  7. shari says:
    Thu, 17th Dec 20095:51 pm 

    cory, not all parents are computer illiterate…it's not 1999 anymore

  8. ughhh says:
    Thu, 17th Dec 20096:55 pm 

    Shoot me. I just went to see if I could stalk my boyfriend's exes only to find out she was friends with all of his friends that he told me she never met. So he lied, and she was cool enough to be in with his friends. FACEBOOK = TORTURE.

  9. Tori says:
    Fri, 18th Dec 20093:35 am 

    YESSS!!! I thought I was the only one that was excited about this.LOl yes I am a stalker & proud of it.lol. j/k But now i get to check out my ex son's mother that he tried to tell me didnt exist.happy facebook stalking everyone.lol

  10. Cory says:
    Fri, 18th Dec 20097:50 am 

    Shari, really, I hadn't noticed, I thought it was 1992 actually. How did that happen?

    I'd venture to bet that more than half of people over 50 are not very computer savvy, despite it being almost 2010. My boss uses a computer all day long, our entire system is computer based. It doesn't mean he can use the computer for much else. He still types with one finger!

    Q, sorry for not editing my comment before posting, such a sin.

  11. Charlsie - Hollins U says:
    Fri, 18th Dec 20098:31 am 

    This whole Facebook change in privacy settings has pretty much made my finals week. I have had my share of stalking, and well, I love it — especially all the idiots that haven't changed their settings.

  12. Alice says:
    Fri, 18th Dec 20099:05 am 

    I know and I am loving this keke!! I shut down my FB though, to make sure no stranger creep me.

  13. adair says:
    Fri, 18th Dec 20096:20 pm 

    i sadly have to admit that cory speaks the truth about most 50 year olds, we really do rely on our kids helping us out in the computer department. there are exceptions to this of course, so all you tech savvy mid-lifers, don't jump down my throat.

    but what i really wanted to comment on was the article, itself, which was so much fun to read and very informative. thank you arielle, for making me aware of this situation on facebook. i didn't even know that mark tried to notify us, that's how savvy i am. maybe if he had just sent all of us your article in the first place we would have adjusted our settings accordingly.

  14. melissa says:
    Tue, 22nd Dec 20096:48 pm 

    jahahahahaha great article Arielle. I admit, i did my share of stalking. Profiles I thought never in a million YEARS i'd be able to see. I love it!

  15. frank says:
    Fri, 1st Jan 20108:47 pm 

    omg duh. stalker!!! stop looking at my book. can i be your blog editor.

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