Researchers are working on new methods to help them gain a
better understanding of the usage habits of participants in social networks.
The results will be incorporated in the development of userfriendly tools for
privacy protection.
In principle, social networks such as Facebook are a good
things: users can communicate with other people around the globe, contacting
their closest friends in all places and at all times to share experiences with
them in real time. Yet many users have problems publishing posts and photos in
a way that will protect them from the undesirable side effects to their online
identities. To support users’ desire for “interactional privacy” - protection
of the user’s private sphere in online dealings with other people - suggested
improvements have already been made for networks such as Facebook. In a
practical setting, however, these improved means are either too rigid to do
justice to users’ multifaceted habits, or they are very complicated to manage
because they try to solve a host of different problems all at the same time.