Facebook updated their privacy settings on Wednesday which altered their users to review and update privacy settings. The settings were “Friends”, “Friends of friends” or “Everyone”.

These new privacy updates were set in motion by a new transition tool which directed users to update their old privacy settings and offering suggested new settings. If users ignored the prompts then the system automatically reverted the settings to ‘everyone’ which meant that anyone on the net could gain access to their personal information.

The concept at the core was to give users more freedom over what information they shared with their friends and public – meaning that status updates and more public related information could be shared in this way but more sensitive personal details would be kept to a close circle of friends and family.

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckberg originally announced on his company blog that they were undergoing privacy policy changes with revamped end user privacy settings. “We’ve worked hard to build controls that we think will be better for you, but we also understand that everyone’s needs are different. We’ll suggest settings for you based on your current level of privacy, but the best way for you to find the right settings is to read through all your options and customize them for yourself. I encourage you to do this and consider who you’re sharing with online.”

The big issue however was the fact that the ‘everyone’ setting was never really explained clearly and that the option in fact was the automatic default ‘fallback’ and exposed personal information to Google and all other search engine spiders. The public backlash for Facebook has been raging for a few days and although the company seem to be covered legally it has certainly not helped enhance their credibility with the user base.