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Research just released from security vendor Sophos shows the majority of Facebook users are considering quitting the social network because of privacy fears.
The research shows that it is not only global data protection bodies that are anxious about Facebook's privacy settings.
Sophos took a poll of 1588 Facebook users and found that 60 per cent are considering leaving the network because they do not believe they have enough control over their data.
Another 16 per cent of those polled claim to have already stopped using Facebook because of its lack of privacy.
Meanwhile, since Facebook introduced its latest controversial privacy settings in December, it admits that 50 per cent of users have changed the pre-selected settings on their account, compared to 15 to 20 per cent previously.
The December changes meant that more details contained in user profiles were publicly displayed by default, including picture, current city, list of friends and fan pages. Users had previously been given the option of exposing a limited profile or remaining hidden altogether.
Facebook has admitted its privacy policy is "too complex" for users and could planning make changes to it within a matter of days.
Judging by the Sophos figures, Facebook needs to act quickly.
20 May 2010
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