Default privacy settings should be most restrictive

[quicksilver_ink]

Title:
Default privacy settings should be most restrictive

Area:
Privacy settings

Summary:
When journals are created, privacy settings on profile information should default to the most restrictive possible until they are changed by the user.

Description:
When journals are created, privacy settings on profile information should default to the most restrictive possible until they are changed by the user.

I had a delay of a few days between journal creation and getting a chance to really sort things out, and based on the default settings it looked like some of my personal information (email and DOB) was publicly viewable on my profile during that time period, which makes me uncomfortable.

I believe this change would be a good idea because a number of people are currently moving to DW in reaction to LiveJournal's alliance with FaceBook. Most of the people I know who have discussed leaving LJ over this are concerned about privacy issues, and feel that LJ has shown a lack of consideration for their privacy. I believe that making DW privacy settings opt-out would be reassuring to many people.

It would also be an easy way to demonstrate the DW takes privacy seriously and will not be going the FB route of compromising privacy by default.

The only drawback I can see to making this change is that people may need to change more settings to match their desires when they get things set up.

Poll #4428 Default privacy settings should be most restrictive

Open to: Registered Users, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 80

View Respondents

This suggestion:

View Answers

Should be implemented as-is.
45 (56.2%)

Should be implemented with changes. (please comment)
6 (7.5%)

Shouldn't be implemented.
18 (22.5%)

(I have no opinion)
9 (11.2%)

(Other: please comment)
2 (2.5%)

Comments

[vangirl]

I definitely think this is a good idea. I think defaulting to privacy is generally a good idea, if only because it errs on the side of caution.

[juliet316]

Huh. Funny, I was able to set my privacy settings right away.

[zaluzianskya]

You can set them right away, but not everyone has a chance to do so immediately.

[aedifica]

Sure, if you have time when you create your journal to go look at all the things you're going to want to customize. Not everybody does. (I think I did, I don't remember at this point, but I do think the OP has a valid point.)

[zvi]

Umm, I think a blanket "default to most private for everything" is probably the wrong call. While DW enables privacy, I don't think that's the social default we want to encourage. We encourage making friends and influencing people.

The e-mail should probably default to being viewable to access list only, and the DOB should default to month and day only display.

I think we can assume that people who have time to set their location have time to set their privacy; it's not required for registration the way DOB and e-mail are.

[archangelbeth]

Having data default to the access list only would be a good compromise. If you're doing a fast yoink and have to run, you'll have a teeny access list, or no access list -- and thus no one will see your data.

(Is there an option for month-only DOB? I am seized with amusement at the thought of my DoB reading "Sometime in November." O:> )

[quicksilver_ink]

Well, I know you can remove your DOB info and set just the month. I looked but wasn't able to find a "display month only" option.

[jumpuphigh]

+1

[denise]

The DOB does default to month/day only visible, not full DOB. I don't remember what the default for email is.

[ninetydegrees]

On my Dreamhack, the default for system email is: Do not show.

If I'm given paid time, the DW email is also set to: Do not show.

Location is set to everyone but is empty unless you've edited your profile so you would change the access level then.

[reddragdiva]

The geek social fallacies are fallacies.

Who precisely is the "we" you're talking about? Why is this to the benefit of the person creating a journal?

[zing_och]

+1

[cesy]

+1

[charamei]

+1

[matgb]

Disagree completely. If you want privacy, it's there as an option, but if the default is to lock everything down, then people that don't want it and are technically challenged will have problems.

I had a friend once who announced her pregnancy on her journal. But the privacy settings were wrong, and no one could see the post.

You assume most people want privacy. I assume most people want to interact with others. You want to lock your journal down, I want to shout to the world.

Your rationale is a specific use case of people leaving a single different site over a single issue. Those people will alreayd be familiar with the settings and be able to set their privacy as they wish.

But assuming all, or most, users want to hide themselves from the world is a poor assumption, and even if that were true, every single post has the privacy options, and all of them are available on one page in journal settings.

Strongly oppose this idea.

[jeeps]

but the suggestion isn't about posts (if it were about autolocking posts unless chosen otherwise, I would also be strongly opposed), it's about personal information being displayed in the profile. I don't think it should be the default to display someone's personal contact information and real life details. just as with posting about personal and real life information (such as pregnancy), the user should be able to decide exactly when that info is available and to which people — before it's already been posted. we don't make people post entries publicly and then go back and make it private, and it should be the same with profiles.

[quicksilver_ink]

If someone is sufficiently tech-challenged that they can't figure out how to edit their journal settings, then their personal information like DOB (required for registration) really should not be broadcasting by default. It's putting them at a risk they cannot protect themselves from.

It's the internet-unsaavy users, who don't know how or don't know to change their privacy settings, whose privacy and identity-security are compromised the most with FaceBook's system.

[thejeopardymaze]

I had a friend once who announced her pregnancy on her journal. But the privacy settings were wrong, and no one could see the post.

But one can easily make a post public by editing it, and there are worse things, like accidently making a public post about say, a drug habit, and having an employer find about it.

Good idea

[thejeopardymaze]

In fact I also want to see a return to a walled internet garden, but that's a rant for another time. :P

[faithofone]

Someone up thread mentioned having the default for DOB & email set to access lock, this is what I would think is best.

[reddragdiva]

Absolutely. This will also be a differentiation from organisations such as LiveJournal and FaceBook.

Mostly Implemented

[ninetydegrees]

I've just created a new account and I can confirm that, as Denise said, the default for birth date is month and day and that the default for system email is do not show so it's not really true that they were publicly viewable.

I'm fine with the settings for these two elements and think the other default settings make sense.

Re: Mostly Implemented

[denise]

Thanks for checking -- this was my error, then!

[kyrielle]

I don't have a strong opinion on this, but wanted to throw out - what if the option as to privacy was shown on the same page where you had to enter the data during signup, so that it was explicitly obvious how public the email address and DOB would be - and so you could change it if you disliked the defaults? That way it could literally be part of the same screen, so the account would be created with the settings you want and never exist (even for a second) with the ones you don't want.

[velocitygrass]

+1