The Evolution of Privacy on Facebook

I thought that the face peering out from the hole in the wall looked like Mark Zuckerberg rather than Google. It has curly hair like Mark although he isn't purple ... yet. 

The critter that is supposed to be Facebook is definitely gross, and might be a better fit with Google. Google is everywhere; however, today's post is about Facebook's incursion into users' privacy.

Horror once users realize their exposure to
intrusive online services! Overstated slightly...

Are Facebook users adequately aware of the status of their private or personally identifying information? Probably not.

The Evolution of Privacy on Facebook is a recent analysis by IBM Research scientist Matt McKeon. (He did this as a personal project, not as part of work for his employer, IBM).

Matt's analysis was thorough and revealing. It is summarized by a series of charts depicting user growth and information sharing on Facebook, at multiple points in time: 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009 (Nov), 2009 (Dec), and last month, April 2010.

Earliest "snapshot" of Facebook user privacy 2005

Matt's article analyzes the 6 charts in chronological order. 

He provides a complete explanation of his methodology, including data collection details. The work clearly demonstrates the dramatic increase in level of exposure of private data for Facebook users over the brief interval of five years, and that there is nothing to stop it from continuing, in ways we might not even anticipate.

Personal data and privacy status as of April 2010

Please note that these charts are reproduced here* with permission from Matt McKeon but are not Creative Commons-licensed and may not be further reproduced except under the limited usage terms on Matt's website.

* Matt granted me re-use permission as a Disqus comment.