Paul Walsh, the Irish Opportunist

My mother was telling me on the phone how she found pictures of me using Google. I asked her for more detail and came across pictures I didn’t particularly like. They’re stored on someone else’s flickr page, so I was unable to do anything to stop others from finding them. The same can be said for almost every Web site - the content is controlled by the author (not necessarily the owner). As soon as someone uploads a picture of you to the Web, it automatically becomes discoverable.

However, if someone uploads of a picture to their Facebook profile and tags you in it, at least you get the option to remove the tag, rendering it impossible for people to search specifically for you. In fact, you can set your preferences to block people from searching for pictures with you in them.

Facebook gets a lot of bad press because of its lack of privacy preferences and because it makes it easier for people to display their life in a digital format for the world to see. The fact is, it has always been possible - it just hasn’t been easy for everyone.

Doesn’t this mean that Facebook is in fact, more supportive of your privacy, helping you to control what’s uploaded by others?

Feel free to connect with me on Facebook.