Privacy and user awareness on Facebook

Abstract

Users’ privacy on social media platforms continues to be important as users face numerous threats to their personal data. Social media sites such as Facebook store large amounts of users’ personal data which make such sites prime targets for hackers. Research has shown that users have been subjected to privacy attacks in which hacked personal data are sold to online marketers. These incidents have prompted the need to protect users’ privacy against data theft by third parties. We investigated the privacy risks that social media users on Facebook face when online. The privacy awareness of regular users of Facebook was evaluated through the observation of their online activities. Facebook was selected as a case study because it is the largest and most popular social media platform in South Africa. A sample group of Facebook users was selected for this study based on their activeness (or frequency of posting, uploaded or liking) on the site. Findings indicate that users’ personal data can be obtained as they are publicly available on Facebook. The implication of this finding is that users lack adequate awareness on protection tools designed to protect their personal data, and as a result, they risk losing their data and privacy. Significance: • This study serves as an assessment tool for the privacy and security features of the social media site Facebook. This assessment tool can help users of social media sites to evaluate their own behaviour and usage patterns on Facebook. It can also assist social media site designers in considering the effectiveness of current measures, which are designed to ensure that the privacy and safety of users are protected.

A Study on the Social Networking Sites Security Awareness Among Users in Tabuk City

“…Most people are unaware that their posts and alerts are public and readily accessible. It is vital to increase their privacy awareness to shield users from potential property loss or tracking (15) .…”

Management Privacy dalam Penggunaan Fitur “Close Friend” di Instagram

“…Hal ini membuat media sosial sebagai platform yang signifikan dalam aktivitas masyarakat untuk dapat membangun hubungan sosial dengan orang lain terutama pada mereka yang memiliki latar belakang atau koneksi kehidupan nyata yang serupa (Akram & Kumar, 2017). Media sosial juga mengarah pada keuntungan khususnya bagi kaum muda karena dapat selalu mengetahui hal-hal penting yang terjadi pada teman mereka yang mereka dapat lihat dalam unggahan di media sosial serta dapat segera bertukar berita dengan teman-teman mereka dan tidak perlu menunggu sampai mereka bertemu secara langsung (Nyoni & Velempini, 2018). Selain itu, Cornelissen menjelaskan bahwa situs jejaring sosial juga memungkinkan penggunanya dapat menemukan teman baru bahkan memperluas lingkaran pertemanan mereka yang bukan hanya sebatas pertemanan di kehidupan nyata (Cornelissen, 2014).…”

‘Unfocused groups’: lessons learnt amid remote focus groups in the Philippines

“…We appreciate substantive and important debates regarding privacy settings of FB (eg, end-to-end encryption of video calls, data protection and security, fake accounts, etc). 42 43 We included steps to mitigate risks and privacy concerns including: (a) screening of the participants prior to invitation (and continuously checking for uninvited participants to be able to remove them immediately, which proved unnecessary in our FGDs); (b) closing the room and deleting in-meeting chats at the end of the session; and (c) creating and communicating ground rules to all participants before the start of the session, that is, no third-party application screen sharing, screen capture or video recording. We acknowledge the possibility that participants may use third-party recording applications to record FGD sessions, or they may screen grab messages amid in-meeting chats.…”