Opinion
Facebook Messenger: Why I’m Not Using It
Facebook tends to disrespect privacy
So way back when I created my Facebook account, I asked all of you what you wanted. And you responded. Now there were two top-voted choices as you can see here:
- Download the Messanger app
- One joke per day
If any of you know how to schedule Facebook posts, I’ll totally post one joke per day and schedule it out a week at a time. Until then, we’ll stick to jokes when I can think of them (and when I can post).
As for Facebook Messanger, many of you have already tried to message me. And I haven’t responded. In all due respect, it has nothing to do with you messaging me. Rather, it’s that Facebook Messanger should not be used. Here’s why.
If you want to contact me, the best ways are text and email — just a heads up.
Note: this is not a response to anyone messaging me. I’ve been meaning to write this up for a while now.
Privacy Expectations in Private Conversations
Facebook Messanger mainly deals with private conversations. This doesn’t necessarily mean conversations between two people. It can be groups of three, four, five, or 345. It doesn’t matter. What matters is that these conversations are expected to be private.
Here’s what private means to me:
- Messages are not inherently public
- People can choose how the messages are handled
- People know exactly what happens to their messages
Seems simple. If you message me, the expectation is that no one else knows about the message. In the age of the internet, people assume that either person is allowed to share the conversation. However, unless either person shares a message, no one else should know about the conversation.
This may seem like common sense, but we need to lay out what exactly “privacy” entails.
Privacy is About Comfort
Some people are more open to sharing things than others.
This means that you might be willing to share something with me, but not with someone else. And vice-versa. Typically, I make a value judgment on whether something should be shared. If it’s personal, don’t share it without permission. If it’s not personal, it can be shared. I suspect most of you think the same way.
Just Because a Conversation Isn’t Personal Doesn’t Mean It Stays That Way
How’d we get to talking about toucans eating bananas in the arctic?
Ever had a thought like that? Okay, maybe not about toucans eating bananas in the arctic, but rather “how’d we get onto this subject”? You can start the conversation talking by sharing a cool economics video, yet end up with a philosophical debate on the ethics of global warming (real conversation).
Especially with extended conversations, they tend to drift between topics. Most of them pivot around ideas that aren’t necessarily in the core of the conversation. That’s how you can get from one topic to another, seemingly random one.
So just because a conversation on Facebook Messanger starts impersonal doesn’t mean that it won’t end that way. If it does, you should be comfortable knowing that no one is eavesdropping.
Facebooks Blatant Privacy Violations
You have control over who sees what you share on Facebook. — Facebook
This is what Facebook officially says about privacy and your data. Though actions speak louder than words, so let’s see what Facebook does.
To be honest, there are a ton more articles on Facebook and Privacy, and some of the ones I linked to above may be on duplicate subjects. However, some of the above articles to as far back as 2010. Facebook’s violations of privacy are not new. It’s a decade old (or older).
Simple Rule for Privacy on Facebook
Given Facebook’s reputation for violating privacy on Facebook, there’s only really one rule you can follow.
Assume anything you post on Facebook or a Facebook product is public now and forever, regardless of your privacy settings
Facebook is not a place for private conversations. Hence I will not use Messanger. Nothing personal.
