Don’t fall for this Facebook 'privacy' hoax

Rights, Scams and Politics

Updated on 29 September 2015 | 0 Comments

Another Facebook hoax is doing the rounds, this time promising a new 'privacy' option.

If you’ve been on Facebook today, you might have seen this message clogging up your feed:

"Now it's official! It has been published in the media. Facebook has just released the entry price: £5.99 to keep the subscription of your status to be set to "private". If you paste this message on your page, it will be offered free (I said paste not share) if not tomorrow, all your posts can become public. Even the messages that have been deleted or the photos not allowed. After all, it does not cost anything for a simple copy and paste."

Don’t panic

If you’ve seen this message, don’t panic and repost – it’s a hoax.

Facebook has no plans to start charging £5.99 to keep profiles private.

And according to PC Advisor it’s not the first time the rumour has appeared. It was last seen back in 2013 warning about a £5.99 charge to keep details out of public view.

Reposting will do nothing but keep the rumour alive.

Are my details safe?

The warning is harmless (apart from making you look a bit foolish for reposting), but it preys on our fears about privacy.

Facebook would be in serious trouble if it decided to just start sharing private data willy nilly.

Anyone who uses Facebook owns and controls the content and information they post. Facebook’s terms and conditions state: "You own all of the content and information you post on Facebook, and you can control how it is shared through your privacy and application settings."

To make sure your details are safe use your common sense and make sure you have applied the highest level of privacy settings you can.

 

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