2. Table of contents
• Slide 3: Definition of personal information
• Slide 4: Special elements and uses in personal
information
• Slide 5: The use of personal information
• Slide 6: 5 Design Tricks Facebook Uses To Affect
Your Privacy Decisions
• Slide 7: Tips for guarding your information
• Slide 8: Five Ways to Boost Your Facebook Privacy
• Slide 9: Bibliography
3. Personal information
is recorded information about an identifiable individual
that may include his or her:
1. name, address, email address, phone number
2. race, nationality, ethnicity, origin, colour, religious or political
beliefs or associations,
3. age, sex, sexual orientation, marital status, family status,
4. identifying number, code, symbol,
5. finger prints, blood type, inherited characteristics,
6. health care history including information on physical/mental
disability,
7. educational, financial, criminal, employment history,
8. others' opinion about the individual, and
9. personal views except those about other individuals.
(Business Dictionary 2012)
4. Special elements and uses in personal
information
Companies collect and use
information about
customers and website
visitors for a variety of
purposes.
Information is obtained
when you interact, use
products and services, and
when you visit websites.
5. The use of personal information
This information can be used to:
• deliver, provide, and repair products or services
• establish and maintain customer accounts and billing
records
• contact you about products and services and direct specific
offers or promotions to you
• monitor website statistics
• manage and protect company’s networks
• monitor the company’s customer service employees
• establish your online account
• predict customer preferences and to direct marketing offers
by the company or by third parties.
(Verizon 2012)
6. 5 Design Tricks Facebook Uses To
Affect Your Privacy Decisions
#1: The Single Button Trick (old design:
Facebook keeps “improving” their 2 buttons = choice)
design so that more of us will add
apps without realising we’re #2: The Tiny Gray Font Trick (old
granting those apps (and their design: bold black font + prominent
creators) access to our personal permission icon)
information.
#3: The Tiny Hidden Info Symbol Trick
(old design: detailed & visible
After all, this access to our permissions)
information and identity is the
currency Facebook is trading in #4: The Action Line Trick (old design:
and what is driving its stock up or permissions visible above action line)
down.
#5: The Friendly Talk Trick (old design:
clear messaging)
(Charkham, A. 25.8.2012.)
7. Tips for guarding your information
• Limit the information you share
• Set up strong passwords
• Limit Unwanted Marketing Emails (Spam)
• Don’t open suspicious emails -> If you receive a
suspicious email, you should not reply to it, nor should
you open any attachments, click on links contained in
the email or provide any information in response to it.
• Protect your computer from viruses, hackers and
spyware by anti-virus and anti-spyware software
• Get an unlisted telephone number
(Verizon 2012; Consumer Action 2007)
8. Five Ways to Boost Your Facebook
Privacy
1. Limit Who Can Post to Your Timeline (prevent and fine-tune)
2. Block Tagged Photos From Your Timeline (posts and photos your friends
tag don't appear on your timeline without your explicit approval)
3. Prevent Friends' Apps From Gathering Your Info (Many apps ask users for
access to their friends' info.)
4. Disable "Instant Personalization“ (By default, Facebook provides a
handful of "partner websites," including Yelp and Bing, with information
about you and your friends when you visit them.
5. Change Your Default Post Privacy (Facebook uses the privacy setting of
your most recent post as the default privacy setting for your next post—
except for on certain mobile apps.
(The Wall Street Journal 12.10.2012)
9. Bibliography
Slide 3: Business Dictionary 2012. Personal information. URL:
http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/personal-information.html#ixzz29bD9BI00.
Quoted 18.10.2012
Slide 4: Verizon 2012. Privacy Policy Summary. URL: https://www22.verizon.com/about/privacy/.
Quoted 18.10.2012
Slide 5: Verizon 2012. Privacy Policy Summary. URL:
https://www22.verizon.com/about/privacy/. Quoted 18.10.2012
Slide 6: Charkham, A. 25.8.2012. 5 Design Tricks Facebook Uses To Affect Your Privacy Decisions.
URL: http://techcrunch.com/2012/08/25/5-design-tricks-facebook-uses-to-affect-your-privacy-
decisions/. Quoted 18.10.2012
Slide 7: Verizon 2012. Privacy Policy Tips for Guarding Your Information . URL:
https://www22.verizon.com/about/privacy/personalinformation/. Quoted 18.10.2012
Slide 7: Consumer Action 2007. Protect Your Phone Records. URL: http://www.consumer-
action.org/english/articles/protect_your_phone_records/. Quoted 18.10.2012
Slide 8: The Wall Street Journal 2012. Five Ways to Boost Your Facebook Privacy. URL:
http://blogs.wsj.com/digits/2012/10/12/five-ways-to-boost-your-facebook-privacy/?mod=e2fb.
Quoted 18.10.2012
