The Facebook Private Message Panic Attack

I was in a really good mood when I woke up this morning…

…until I saw an article my friend Ros posted about a Facebook glitch which was causing private messages to show up on people’s public timelines.

Instant panic attack. 

I don’t know about you, but there’s a pretty good reason I keep my private messages private. Here’s what my Facebook inbox looks like:

I have a particularly long thread with my sister Bambi that looks kind of like this:

And although our comments are pretty harmless (just not always very charitable), things could become a bit problematic if they ever got out.

Horrors.

So naturally I immediately checked my Timeline, and phew! No pm’s made public.

Panic attack over. No angry mobs incoming. (Again.. PHEW!) The extremely stressful experience did make me realize something important though…

If you’re put into a panic at the thought of people seeing your private messages — then maybe you shouldn’t be putting those kinds of messages online at all.  

Let’s face it. Whatever we post on the Internet — no matter what stringent privacy settings we use — could easily be made public one day. There are no real privacy guarantees on the web. All it takes is one glitch, or a talented hacker, and that’s it. You’re a goner. 

So watch what you post! Keep your info secure and your private life private, and let my little early morning panic attack serve as a modern day reminder of Mom’s age-old advice:

Have a pleasant and panic-free day, people! :)

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  1. fabafter40 posted this