Facebook Removes Search By Name Option

 

Last week, Facebook announced that they were removing the “Who Can Look Up My Timeline By Name” option for their users. Since then we have been contacted by many concerned advocates about what removing this feature means for survivors, many of whom use Facebook to stay connected with friends and family but whose privacy from their abusers and stalkers is equally important.

When Facebook first told us they were planning to make this change, we expressed that this feature is one method some survivors use to control their privacy. Opting out of being searchable by name was one way in which survivors could use to keep an abuser or stalker from finding their timeline/account. 

However, Facebook explained, and we agree (because we’ve known this for a while too), that this feature gave a false sense of privacy, since even if this feature was activated, people can still be found in other ways. Some of those ways include:

  • Mutual friends. If you have mutual friends, unless you choose to not allow mutual friends to see your activity, many people can be found that way. Moreover, even if they have chosen to not allow friends of friends to see their activity, we have heard of many survivors whose mutual friends simply shared the information with their abuser or other people. 

  • Username/User ID. If someone knew your exact username or userID, they can find you that way. 

  • Graph Search. Graph search is a new searching option that Facebook has been slowly rolling out, and this type of search will make anyone searchable, even if they have selected that they don’t want to be found by name. Unlike personal demographics information, graph search reveals users based on things they like or things their friends like and other demographics information about the user that public. So, for example, if you like a particular restaurant, live in Albuquerque, NM, someone can do a search for “People who like [restaurant] in [city]” and find all the people who have liked it. 

Although we are disappointed that the option to be searched by name has been removed, the safest course for survivors and advocates is to educate themselves about how they can be found on Facebook regardless of privacy settings. Users should know what kinds of information will always be public, understand how widely information can be shared online, and determine what they will share based on their own privacy risks. The reality is that social media always has, and always will, move toward a model of sharing and openness; even if something is private now, it may not always be so. 

In light if that, it is important to know that these activities/information will always be public on Facebook:

  • Your name, profile picture, your cover photo, your username and user ID, and any networks you belong to.

  • Any public pictures or posts you like or comment on. For example, if you like or commented on a picture or a post where the original author set that picture or post to public, the fact that you liked it or your comment will be public. 

There are a few things that survivors can do to maximize their privacy.

  • Check out the “view as” option, to see what someone can see when they look at your page, whether it’s as a friend, a friend of a friend, or the public. 

  • Review your timeline by going back to previous posts on your timeline and change who can see those posts. You can even delete old posts. 

  • Going forward, limit what you share by choosing only friends. You can even go further and create lists that will limit exactly who see the specific information you are sharing. 

  • Take a look at Safety Net’s handout on Facebook Privacy for more privacy tips. 

As Facebook continues to change their privacy settings and introduce new features to their users, it is critical that survivors and advocates understand those changes and how it affects the personal information they share on Facebook. Facebook allows users to delete old posts or pictures, so it might be time to do your own Facebook audit and clean up your timeline. 

 

Act. Speak. Make a Difference.

 

Last week, was a busy week for the Safety Net team. At the beginning of the week, Erica Olsen, Stephen Montagna and I were in Little Rock, AZ, co-hosting The Use of Technology in Intimate Partner Stalking Conference with the Stalking Resource Center. The three of us provided trainings on phones and its misuse, the internet and how privacy and safety can be compromised, and focused specifically in a 3-hour presentation on social media to about 50 victim service advocates, law enforcement, and prosecutors. Visit the links below for tips and handouts on these topics.

On Thursday & Friday of last week, Cindy Southworth and I attended Facebook’s Safety Advisory Board meeting. Each year, Facebook brings together their Safety Advisory Board to talk about upcoming products and how they can ensure that their services are safe for teens and users who might be stalked or harassed on Facebook. 

Kaofeng Lee and Cindy Southworth at Facebook HQ in Menlo Park, CA.

Kaofeng Lee and Cindy Southworth at Facebook HQ in Menlo Park, CA.

I’m always struck at how passionate Facebook staff is about connecting people. Facebook, at its core, is about connections. That’s why we urge victim advocates and service providers to NOT tell survivors to just get off Facebook. We know how important that community can be for many survivors. Doing this work, we are focused (and rightly so) on how social media is misused to stalk and harass. We are constantly having conversations about how survivors can find resources, justice, and peace of mind and spirit when they are subject to abuse and control by abusers and stalkers. 

Yet, let’s take a moment and focus on Facebook and social media as a medium of connection and communication. How can we use social media to shift how we, as a society, talk about issues of domestic violence, sexual violence, and other crimes of abuse, harassment, and stalking? How can we use these spaces to change the way we talk about these issues, the way we think about these issues, and ultimately change the way people understand and perceive gender roles, relationships, and violence? Let us know what you think in the comments below.

In less than a week, it’ll be October, Domestic Violence Awareness Month. What are you doing to raise awareness about domestic violence? Here at the National Network to End Domestic Violence, this year’s 31n31 campaign will be focused on actions: 31 actions you can take to make a difference. We’re also starting a book club on Goodreads to discuss issues of domestic violence in modern literature. Follow this blog and our Facebook page for other activities you can take part in.

Take action with us. Join our book club and talk to us (and each other) about this issue. Let us know what you think we can do to use social media to change the way we talk and understand domestic violence.

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