MySpace and FaceBook: You're Giving Away Your Right to Privacy

When you post your personal information on a social network, it may feel intimate and safe. In actuality, these sites are more like megalithic repositories of sensitive information, and a perfect place for identity thieves to troll. They can put you at risk in the future if employers or others who make decisions about your fate find it. What's worse, simply deleting it does not necessarily eliminate it.

Questions To Ask

When I delete my information is it really gone?

Answer: No! Google and other search engines hold a cached version for a period of time after you delete your pages. You are better off replacing your current embarrassing information with fresh, non-embarrassing data and leaving that up for a while before you delete the page. In most, but not all, cases, this will eliminate the older information. Still, the Wayback Machine may hold a cache forever, though it's much harder to find in their system.

What if I close my account?

Answer: No! Simply closing an account on Facebook does not eliminate the information that is up there, and most other social networks also retain your information even after you've closed the account. See this ZDNet blog for a step-by-step on how to get rid of Facebook data. Other social networking accounts can be eliminated in a similar fashion.

What information should I put up?

Answer: Things that, if your beloved granny found them, would not embarrass you. Things that would not jeopardize getting or keeping a job. Things that do not compromise your identity. I highly recommend using aliases and nicknames extensively except in things you put together for professional reasons. Just as in real life, keep your playful online persona and your professional online persona in separate boxes.