It’s impossible to be online and not encounter social networking, which in recent years, has embedded itself in many facets of people’s online lives. Websites such as Facebook, MySpace, Twitter and LinkedIn offer their users huge forums for sharing information, establishing contact with others and maintaining ties to friends and family.

This article examines social networking services from a privacy standpoint, looking at key issues such as access, control, limitations and trust. Websites’ privacy policies and their weaknesses are also examined, by using the well-known social networking service Facebook as an example of how these services can compromise users’ [...]