Yes, it is true that Facebook have removed a feature that allowed their users to be invisible to the websites inbuilt search feature.
We’ve been getting plenty of questions about whether the rumours are true that Facebook have removed a feature on their site that allows users to stop their profiles turning up in the search results if someone types their Facebook account name into the inbuilt search bar on the site.
And yes the rumours are true. In fact for most users, who left the relevant privacy setting at its default setting – i.e. off – the rumours have been true for the better part of a year, when Facebook removed the option from the privacy options page.
But confused media articles and a lack of understanding of how Facebook privacy works is making the removal of this feature seem worse than it actually is, so it is worth clarifying a few points.
Just because your profile appears as a result when someone searches for your name, it doesn’t mean the person performing the search can see the contents of your profile. In fact if you have your privacy settings as they should be (i.e. locked down) then the fact that your Facebook profile appears as a result doesn’t mean as much as you may think it does.
Yes, someone can see your name, your profile picture and your cover photo. But this information is public and always has been, and you knew that when you chose that information ….right!? The rest of your information, like your photos, status updates, check-ins etc., have the same privacy settings attributed to them as they always did.
So providing they have the correct privacy settings applied, your private information is still inaccessible to people you are not friends with, just like they always were.
To summarise, the removal of the setting doesn’t make any information accessible that was previously inaccessible. It just means you can’t hide the fact that you have a Facebook account anymore. (Unless you use an alias, or use the Block option, see next paragraph)
And if, for some reason, there is a specific someone on Facebook that you don’t want seeing any part of your account, even your name, then you still have the option of going to their account and blocking them. That way that person cannot see ANY activity from you, including your profile, your comments and anything else.
So yes the rumours are true, but if you’re using Facebook the way you should be, it shouldn’t make that much difference.
What do you think? Even with the correct privacy settings applied, do you still think users should be able to remain invisible to Facebook search?
