Many Facebook users show privacy concern over Places, a location based service newly launched this week, according to comments on news sites and Facebook’s official blog.
The new feature enables users to “check in” at gathering spots and so announce their physical location. However, as some users are upset about, the function is enabled by default and there is no way for users to opt it out entirely at the current stage. What users can change is only the privacy setting – indicating their locations either publicly or “to friends only”.
Some users fear the new “check-in” feature could become a platform for criminals to check for opportunities. “If I announce online that I am on vacation, I’m pretty sure that leaves my house vulnerable,” a commenter said. Other comments indicate that, many users do not understand how the new feature actually works.
Rainey Reitman, a spokeswoman for the privacy Rights Clearinghouse, warned that Facebook users should never tell people where they live or tag their homes, as to avoid sending open invitation to burglars.
Marc Rotenberg, executive director of the Electronic privacy Information Center, said Facebook should allow users to enable or disable the Facebook Places feature instead of making the people who don’t want to use it have to adjust their privacy settings.
There are actually some positive feedbacks for the geo-tagging features, for example, it can help keep tracks on spouses and partners. “This will help to keep track of your [significant] other… Babe where are you? I’m at work. Prove it, check in!” one commenter wrote.
