Privacy considerations here vs FB

(HIDAYAH KENDALL) #1

It would be great if a lot of thought was put into privacy considerations for the group. It looks like an awful lot of information is going to be available to the public.

(Richard Morris) #2

Yes we are really worried about this.

But even on a supposedly private group on FaceBook there is no real thing such as privacy. We had one incident where a lady mention an embarrassing personal problem ā€¦ worrying hair loss.

One of the people who apparently think more protein cures everything reposted her question including their suggestion (eat more protein, natch) on their personal (public) page as well in a couple of other keto groups on facebook, tagging her.

Luckily the woman involved didnā€™t have a problem being tagged in a post complaining about losing her hair ā€¦ but no one asked her before it was posted. That could have been horrible.

So it has been our goal to make sure that people could post completely anonymously if they want so even we canā€™t tell who they are (well we can check their IP address and have a rough idea).

Some of the categories we wonā€™t allow google to see, like the SPAM folder (no point giving people SEO credit for posting spam on the forums), also the Mental Health and Before and After pictures categories are something that people should have to log in to be able to see. Oh weā€™re also bringing a few posts back from FaceBook, and putting them in the Saved from FaceBook category. Since they were written on FB where people had an expectation they were only viewable to people in the closed group we are limiting access to them to just people who have come over from FaceBook.

Iā€™d be happy to hear input from anyone on the subject before we launch the site in January. Ideally I want people to be able to search google for ā€œKeto Acneā€ for example, and get some helpful answers from the forum. Thatā€™s the goal going from helping a few thousand people to hundreds of thousands - but we donā€™t want to put anyone at risk to do it.

NB: some of our admins have stalky ex-husbands and have to use pseudonyms. Itā€™s a bad world out there :frowning:

(Jacquie) #3

@richard. Agree with you about privacy and fb. There may be the illusion of privacy in the closed groups butā€¦actually nothing is really private on the internet nowadays. Having said that, I would very much like to see the medical section private. Yes, one can post anonymously but if weā€™re trying to create a supportive community, responding to a lot of anonymous folks kind of creeps me out. Thereā€™s a thread already started here called ā€˜Privacy for Medical Topicsā€™. Not sure if youā€™ve see it yet. My take is you may be going for education for the ā€˜greater goodā€™ and Iā€™m leaning towards the privacy of group members and self-interest. :wink:

(Larry Lustig) #4

Just be aware that nothing ā€“ nothing ā€“ that is transmitted electronically is ever truly private. By the time Iā€™ve seen your post itā€™s traversed a large number of other computers any or all of which may have stored the information for a variety of reasons.

(Karen Parrott) #5

Agreed! When I write on the internet, I write like both my employer and my ex will read.

If I canā€™t stand behind what I wrote showing up on the front page of the NY or LA Times, then I donā€™t post it.

It keeps me out of hot water and keeps me sane and honest, most of the time. Glad you are thinking about this topic. In the end, having a lot of SEO for keto is probably going to help move this helpful tool forward.

Thanks for the happy medium. Karen P

(Jacquie) #6

My hubby, the techie, is always telling me that, too. :grinning:

(netposer) #7

You can copy/paste and/or screen capture anything and repost. Soā€¦ if you want privacy a forum is the last place you should be posting. Stick with email, PM or some other type of communication where you personally know those who will see it. Or donā€™t use your real name here. :slight_smile:

(Tom Seest) #8

One of my many hats I wear is as a software developer that develops electronic discovery software. In a nutshell, my specialty is to take and find anything on devices like Phones, tables, networks (including routers), and web sites including Facebook, and consolidate the data for attorneys in cases. If you Google the term E-Discovery or Electronic Discovery Software, youā€™ll see there are many variations of this type of software.

So, just assume that someone can get to your data. Itā€™s sad that it happens that way, but it can.

In my case, I donā€™t do any of the actual work. I just go after the data, and the data can be media files (photo and video), call logs, voice mail, etc.

(Mark Anthony Spiteri) #9

@tdseest so basically you are a modern day stalker -just stalking data :wink:

#10

Is this associated by email address of the login account, even if the address is private?

(Tom Seest) #11

For the cases Iā€™ve worked on, they usually are more concerned about sites like Facebook where the data is associated with a specific sign on or user name. And, since these arenā€™t government cases, it usually involves consent by both parties.

As an example, in a divorce, both sides believe that they have been hurt or harmed in a social context by the other party, so both consent to having their devices, etc. scraped.

That said, Iā€™m confident that there are many people scraping the data without consent.

(Tom Seest) #12

Iā€™m actually channeling my evil abilities for good though in a different way.

I offer a service where I perform the same services for family members of someone who is dying or deceased so that they can have consolidated reporting on the same data. Some people want the good memories.

So, like everything else, there are two sides to the data coinā€¦

(Mark Anthony Spiteri) #13

@tdseest that is cool! Of course I was only joking - I am a fellow technologist and definitely agree there is always two sides of the coin!

(Tom Seest) #14

No. I understood that.

I was just trying to make a point in general for anyone reading the post.

#15

Iā€™m posting a few replies in order to gain a bit of trust in this forum so that I can use the app. And thanks for everyone for their contributions.

(In a #ketomarriage with @peggaloon) #16

Sorry if this has been asked elsewhere - I signed up before I realised it wasnā€™t going to be private. Am I able to change my username? Iā€™ll change my profile photo too.

(Mark Anthony Spiteri) #17

@Tee_Pegg just click on the profile pic in the top right and than click the gear icon. You will be able to change both from there.

#18

You can change the username, but it will unlink previous posts made with the old username from your account. Best to do this now before making any more posts. If the old posts are a problem, we can help you remove any you want to disappear.

(Larry Lustig) #19

You can, although youā€™ll de-link previous posts made under the old name.

Please be aware that, in addition, you can go into a temporary anonymous mode for individual topics / responses that are more personal. See this post:

(In a #ketomarriage with @peggaloon) #20

@carolT - great. I only just joined, so that sounds like a good idea. How can I change my username? The gear icon only meant I could change my name, not username