Facebook Privacy Settings

A while back, Engadget posted a way to better handle Facebook privacy by using friend lists. Around the time I was also playing around with the idea and admit to stealing some of Nilay Patel's to better round out the modular solution I ended up with.

The difference between my solution and Patel's is that instead of dividing all friends into 1 of 3 lists (Limited, People I don't know well, People I trust) I make categories for my privacy settings and check off which things I want people to have access to when I add them. Let me show you what I mean.

First the 4 categories I've divided my privacy settings:

• Privacy: Bio will grant people access to more information on who I am and what my interests are.
• Privacy: Contact Info will grant people access to ways of contacting me (email, phone number)
• Privacy: Places will grant people access to my check-ins
• Privacy: Pictures/Videos will grant people access to my pictures and videos

This way I can grant each person access to different parts of my profile without assuming that our friendship progresses through the same levels of trust. 

Now for deciding what each list has access to. Here's what I have though you may want more or less restrictions depending on how paranoid you rank relative to me.

Things I share

• Posts by me - Friends Only; Except Limited Profile
• Family - Privacy: Bio
• Relationships - Friends Only; Except Limited Profile
• Interested in and looking for - Friends Only; Except Limited Profile
• Bio and favorite quotations - Privacy: Bio
• Website - Everyone
• Religious and political views - Privacy: Bio
• Birthday - Friends Only
• Places I check in to - Privacy: Places
• photo albums - each Privacy: Pictures/Videos unless more private

Things others share

• Photos and videos I'm tagged in - Privacy: Pictures/Videos
• Can comment on posts - Friends Only
• Suggest photos of me to friends - This is not yet available but when it is Friends Only
• Friends can post on my Wall - Enable
• Can see Wall posts by friends - Friends Only; Except Limited Profile
• Friends can check me in to Places - Disabled

Contact information

• Mobile phone - Privacy: Contact Info
• Other phone - Privacy: Contact Info
• Address - Privacy: Places
• IM screen name - Friends Only
• Email - Privacy: Contact Info

Hopefully this give the privacy conscious among you some ideas on how to better tackle facebook.