Remember browser tracking cookies? So, 1990s, right? Well, no, they’re still around, but sites like Facebook (actually, it’s just Facebook) have taken tracking to a whole new level. They tried it with their Beacon advertising system but were stamped down by user feedback. Now, they’ve made your login’s privacy settings so complicated that you need a law degree to wade through them, even after they supposedly simplified them. It’s almost impossible to tell whether you are sharing data you’d rather keep hidden when you visit Facebook’s so-called “partner” sites. Moreover, there is also the possibility that your friends are sharing your data inadvertently when they visit those same sites.

There are a few things you can do. First, close your Facebook account. That’s not really an option if you want to enjoy the benefits of the social network, though. Second, you could edit down your personal profile so that it reveals only minimal information about you, you can then decide what you want to reveal to some degree. You could also run the privacy scanner at http://www.reclaimprivacy.org/, which will show you what you’re revealing via Facebook and help you lock down your information.

There is one final thing you can do to help prevent leaks across “partner” sites. You know how you slip into “incongnito” (Chrome) or “private browsing” (Firefox) or “InPrivate” (IE) mode when you’re online shopping for your significant other or are involved in other personal online activities, such as one-handed typing, that you’d prefer your SO not to know about? Well, treat Facebook like you do your online shopping and drop out into private mode. You have to login fresh each time, but no cookies or history are stored in your browser, so when you next visit a Facebook “partner” site you’re not identifiable as a Facebook user.

It would be useful if someone were to write a Greasemonkey userscript that forced your browser into private mode when you open Facebook, lest you forget. And, speaking of which there is a Greasemonkey script “Remove Facebook Like” that blocks all the potentially rogue like buttons and scripts on any number of sites.

More Facebook privacy news

• Kirkpatrick: Facebook Will Have Privacy Issues ‘Indefinitely’ (dailyfinance.com)
• Facebook’s True Story Is Agility Not Privacy (darmano.typepad.com)
• Facebook traffic keeps climbing, privacy be damned (venturebeat.com)
• ‘Quit Facebook Day’ More Popular on Twitter Than Facebook (lockergnome.com)
• Privacy, Schmivacy: Facebook Is Attracting Near-Record Numbers Of New Visitors (techcrunch.com)