Facebook users woke Tuesday to find News Feeds and Mini-Feeds on their profiles.
After protest groups and petitions against new features on Facebook.com, the Web site’s staff began working to ensure security.
The new features some students call “stalker friendly” allow users to see what their Facebook friends are doing, including highlighting changes in interests, updated relationship status and the addition of religious views.
Connie Boudreaux, mass communication sophomore, said she is not a private person, but she is against the feeds.
“It’s just unnecessary,” she said. “Do we really need to know the exact minute someone updates their relationship status?”
Before the addition, users were allowed to see what their friends did on the Web site, but the feeds make it much easier.
“I don’t like knowing what everyone is doing, and I don’t like others knowing everything I do,” Andres Lugo, advertising senior said.
After several anti-feeds groups and petitions such as “Students against News Feed (Official Petition to Facebook)” began to emerge, Facebook creator Mark Zuckerberg said he decided to make a change.
“We really messed this one up,” Zuckerberg said in an open letter available to users on the Web site.
According to the statement, Facebook works to give people a better understanding of the world around them. The new feeds on user profiles are an attempt to make connecting easier.
Lindsay Key, mass communication sophomore, said she thinks Facebook missed its goal.
“The feature would be more useful if it gave us to-the-minute updates on current events,” Key said.
Other students say the feeds clutter their pages.
“It’s a mess. When I check my profile I have to see all the feeds,” said John Thibodaux, electronic media senior.
Facebook officials added security features Friday that allow users to disable the News Feeds.
“Somehow we missed [the] point with News Feed and Mini-Feed, and we didn’t build in the proper privacy controls right away,” Zuckerberg said in a statement. “This was a big mistake on our part, and I’m sorry for it,” he said.
Mark said in his statement to users that the team worked nonstop after complaints to create privacy controls. Users are now able to choose which stories they want published.
Key said that after she read the letter she changed her privacy levels.
“This new privacy page will allow you to choose which types of stories go into your Mini-Feed and your friends’ News Feeds, and it also lists the type of actions Facebook will never let any other person know about,” Zuckerberg said.
Some students are happy with the new privacy controls.
“I like that now I can turn off the feeds,” Jennifer Ravey, history senior, said.
Some students said there are some problems with the security features.
“I unchecked all the boxes, but it still shows when I change certain parts of my profile,” Key said.
—–Contact Celeste Cranford at [email protected]