MyPrivacy

May 2, 2006 3:38 AM

MySpace informs me that others can upload their "Yahoo, GMail, AOL and Hotmail" address books and find me. I don't like that. I'll tell the people I want my private details, which is why I don't put my last name up for employers and whoever to find. So do folks know an answer and/or important privacy tips for MySpace. If not, then it may seriously be time for Myspacecide. When I set up my account I was not prepared for things like this.
posted by fucker to Computers & Internet (17 answers total)

er. . .that is, was not prepared for things like this. It kind of upset me. It's embarrassing.
posted by fucker at 3:40 AM on May 2, 2006

[fixed "not" typo]
posted by jessamyn at 3:46 AM on May 2, 2006

I just set up another gmail account that I don't use for anything else and use that for myspace. So no one knows it but me.
posted by ferociouskitty at 4:21 AM on May 2, 2006

I see you're looking for "an answer," but what is the question? You don't want people to find you based on the e-mail address you use both for MySpace and for work? Then don't use it for both MySpace and work. Switch your MySpace e-mail to a sneakemail address or something.
posted by grouse at 4:21 AM on May 2, 2006

I think the issue is that Other People who have the poster's email address might upload their address book to MySpace, and so expose fucker's real identity by accident.

There's nothing to do but monitor it and ask them to remove it if it happens. Presumably the people with your address will be your friends.
posted by DangerIsMyMiddleName at 4:33 AM on May 2, 2006

Um, yeah, this isn't difficult.

Don't use your real name on MS. Don't associate your page with an email address you use for work. Don't visit MS from work.

Unless I'm missing something, problem solved.
posted by blag at 4:35 AM on May 2, 2006

I didn't know people could do that until a couple of weeks after I signed up, and it isn't letting me switch my email now (that I have an established identity). Am i doinfg something wrong, or can't I do that? My thought also is that there are other privacy "surprises" that I'm still not aware of - how can I protect myself?
posted by fucker at 5:10 AM on May 2, 2006

I don't know for sure. If you can't change your e-mail now, then it should be easy enough (although a slight annoyance) to make a new account.

But really, don't put anything out on the internet that you don't want potential employers to find. You're frequently not as anonymous as you think. This is just one example.
posted by grouse at 5:47 AM on May 2, 2006

I agree with the rest of them. You can never guarantee anonymity on the internet if you've got a public profile out there, like myspace.

First order of defense would be the email switch up. If you've got a gmail account, change your myspace account to [e-mail], or something similar. You can put +anything in your gmail address, and it will still show up in your inbox. However, I doubt myspace's little search feature will pick up your account if your friend plugs in [e-mail]. Dig?

But second, if you've got stuff out on the internet that could be a potential hazard to finding a job...well, you might want to re-think that "my favorite porno picz" page with your name and email on it.
posted by jeffxl at 6:17 AM on May 2, 2006

So you went to a social networking site and built a location to meet and be found by other people, yet you somehow want to control who finds you because your identity is some sort of open secret? You didn't think this through.

So here's your answer: The most effective way to wipe out information about yourself is to gradually morph offending information into something else, not delete it. Deleting it will cause the bots and archivers to retain a record of what it was. By changing all the info, it will simply become something it's not and anyone who searches for you will find a site that belongs to "Bob Smith" rather than yourself. They will think the search engines got it wrong and move on. That's your best hope. Chaff the bots into submission.
posted by unixrat at 6:17 AM on May 2, 2006

What do you mean it won't let you change the e-mail address?

If you go to Account Settings, the top field is e-mail address. It is an editable field. If you change that and then click the change button, what happens?
posted by willnot at 7:02 AM on May 2, 2006

Try the following:

Login and click "Account Settings" from your main home page (not the profile view).

Enter your new email address in the box and hit 'Change.' A red box should appear on the right side of the page asking for the confirmation code that was sent to your old address. Cut and paste from the email and click submit.

If this doesn't work, try posting in the Myspace forums to see if other people have had a problem. I just tried it, but didn't actually commit the change because I don't want to change my email address.
posted by justkevin at 7:02 AM on May 2, 2006

It is an editable field. If you change that and then click the change button, what happens?

The page reloads and what I typed disappears, while the old mail address reappears in the textbox.
posted by fucker at 7:41 AM on May 2, 2006

Also it says "Your account settings have been updated" in red above the box. Not true. JK, I don't get the confirmation code thing.
posted by fucker at 7:44 AM on May 2, 2006

You're checking the old email address for the change confirmation email, right?
posted by jerseygirl at 7:49 AM on May 2, 2006

I thought it was doing the same thing for me. I hadn't noticed the confirmation code box was to the side. (And then checking the old email for the confirmation...)
posted by artifarce at 8:04 AM on May 2, 2006

Just make your myspace profile nice and clean, add no friends except "Tom" and make yourself look like a wonderful human being. ;-)

Or, mark it private.
posted by drstein at 6:37 PM on May 2, 2006