Facebook adds bolt ons to security features

Social networking site Facebook is to add a few more privacy bolts to the security locks it’s got in place.



But the changes to Facebook may annoy people more than give them the peace of mind they will have by not getting divorced or sacked – seemingly a not too unusual event on the Interweb.

But for starters, there will be a completely re-written page to control privacy. The changes, which are still in beta but close to release, include different versions of the Transition Tool.

One version of the tool means that anyone or everyone in the universe could be your friend. The maximum number of real friends people can have is supposed to be six – the rest being acquaintances.

Having two billion friends is a nightmare which no-one will really want, especially if like me you’re a geriatric person and will have hundreds of millions of youngsters, while all your posts and stuff is likely to turn up to Google.

And if you’ve a very close real friend or employer that isn’t on Facebook but does use Google, well you could find out that she or he knows far more about your secret “Facebook life” than you’d ever really want.

Part of the reason behind the changes appears to be that Facebook feels a little afraid of the success of Twitter, software that at first appeared to be a trivial and meaningless application but has come into its own in recent weeks with the revolt in Iran and the death of Michael Jackson.