The giant social network is limiting who teenagers can share information with when they first join the service. But teens will be able to change their sharing setting if they want. October 16, 2013 1:01 PM PDT Facebook is now defaulting new teen users to a privacy setting of "friends," instead of "friends of friends." (Credit: Facebook) Facebook said Wednesday that the default privacy setting for teenagers starting out on the service will limit their sharing to friends only. Related posts Snapchat's unopened 'snaps' can be seized by the police Can you beat Zuckerberg when it comes to Facebook privacy? Google putting your face in ads Zuckerberg buys four new houses for, um, privacy Judge dismisses lawsuit over Google's browser tracking Until now, Facebook said, teens aged 13 to 17 joining the service defaulted to being able to share information -- status updates, photos, videos, and the like -- with anybody up to and including "friends of friends." But in a bid, perhaps, to assuage concerned parents, the giant social network is ratcheting the default back to just "friends." To be sure, Facebook will allow those teens to change their privacy settings to anything they want. But to make sure that the users understand what sharing publicly means, they will get a reminder if they choose a public sharing setting that their posts can be seen by anyone, not just people they know. If teens want to change their privacy setting to "public," they'll get a reminder that what they share can be seen by everybody. (Credit: Facebook) Privacy, or the lack of privacy, has long been a touchy subject for Facebook. Users often bash the social network for its ever-changing and often complicated privacy settings. And despite the impression that teens are carefree with their online identities, a recent report showed that they are definitely concerned about their privacy on Facebook. CNET's Donna Tam contributed to this report.
The giant social network is limiting who teenagers can share information with when they first join the service. But teens will be able to change their sharing setting if they want.
Facebook is now defaulting new teen users to a privacy setting of "friends," instead of "friends of friends."
(Credit: Facebook)
Facebook said Wednesday that the default privacy setting for teenagers starting out on the service will limit their sharing to friends only.
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- Zuckerberg buys four new houses for, um, privacy
- Judge dismisses lawsuit over Google's browser tracking
Until now, Facebook said, teens aged 13 to 17 joining the service defaulted to being able to share information -- status updates, photos, videos, and the like -- with anybody up to and including "friends of friends." But in a bid, perhaps, to assuage concerned parents, the giant social network is ratcheting the default back to just "friends."
To be sure, Facebook will allow those teens to change their privacy settings to anything they want. But to make sure that the users understand what sharing publicly means, they will get a reminder if they choose a public sharing setting that their posts can be seen by anyone, not just people they know.
If teens want to change their privacy setting to "public," they'll get a reminder that what they share can be seen by everybody.
(Credit: Facebook)
Privacy, or the lack of privacy, has long been a touchy subject for Facebook. Users often bash the social network for its ever-changing and often complicated privacy settings. And despite the impression that teens are carefree with their online identities, a recent report showed that they are definitely concerned about their privacy on Facebook.
CNET's Donna Tam contributed to this report.
