Technologizer

More on Facebook Home Privacy

Facebook has responded to concerns about its new Facebook Home interface for Android.

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When Facebook announced its Facebook Home interface for Android phones on Thursday, there was immediate concern — especially from GigaOm's Om Malik — about the privacy implications of a Facebook app that's always on and which might be able to monitor your location at any time.

Facebook has now responded:

Since the announcement of Home yesterday, we've received a few questions about how Home works with privacy. Home is software that turns your Android phone into a great, living, social phone. Home doesn't change anything related to your privacy settings on Facebook, and your privacy controls work the same with Home as they do everywhere else on Facebook.

It's pretty standard: Facebook has an event to announce something new and doesn't really address privacy issues during its announcement. Which causes people to fear the worst. And even once Facebook has clarified matters, it's tough to totally eliminate suspicions which some people might have, once they’ve had them.

I think everyone involved might be happier if Facebook made a good-faith effort to anticipate what sort of concerns a new feature or product might prompt — and then forthrightly discussed them at the original event rather than after the fact.