Latest Facebook Privacy Hoaxes Aren't True -- Or New

By MARC TORRENCE (Patch National Staff)

Two viral Facebook hoaxes about privacy are making the rounds again on the social network.

But they’re just that — hoaxes.

These posts should be ignored, not shared further, despite what your totally knowledgeable friends and family members say.

One hoax claims that Facebook is about to make a change to its privacy settings, and unless you pay a small fee, everything in your profile will become public.

Here’s the lie:

Now it’s official! It has been published in the media. Facebook has just released the entry price: £5.99 ($9.10) to keep the subscription of your status to be set to “private.” If you paste this message on your page, it will be offered free (I said paste not share) if not tomorrow, all your posts can become public.

Hoax No. 2 claims that if you post certain legal language as your status, then your photos and other information will be protected from Facebook.

And here’s that lie:

As of September 28th , 2015 at 10:50 p.m. Eastern standard time, I do not give Facebook or any entities associated with Facebook permission to use my pictures, information, or posts, both past and future. By this statement, I give notice to Facebook it is strictly forbidden to disclose, copy, distribute, or take any other action against me based on this profile and/or its contents. The content of this profile is private and confidential information.

It warns that if you do not copy and paste the status, your privacy could be compromised.

These are both, in no uncertain terms, bull.

“While there may be water on Mars, don’t believe everything you read on the internet today,” Facebook said (appropriately) in a Facebook post. “Facebook is free and it always will be. And the thing about copying and pasting a legal notice is just a hoax. Stay safe out there Earthlings!”

In reality, Facebook doesn’t own your photos or other media.

By uploading photos, you give Facebook permission to use them based on how you have your privacy settings set up. Sometimes, for example, Facebook will show you photos of your friends who like a page for a certain brand or product.

But there is no legal transfer of copyright. And once you delete those photos, they’re gone for good, like “emptying the recycle bin on a computer,” Facebook says.

Even if your privacy was in jeopardy, writing a post about it wouldn’t fix anything.

“Facebook users cannot retroactively negate any of the privacy or copyright terms they agreed to when they signed up for their accounts,” writes Snopes, a website devoted to debunking viral stories like this.

“Nor can they unilaterally alter or contradict any new privacy or copyright terms instituted by Facebook simply by posting a contrary legal notice on their Facebook walls.”

In short: 10 bucks or a bit of legal gymnastics isn’t going to save you from Facebook’s privacy settings — and there isn’t anything to be saved from in the first place.

This isn’t the first time hoaxes like this have made the rounds, either.

Back in 2012, similar rumors popped up, prompting Facebook to release a statement calling the claims “false.”

“Anyone who uses Facebook owns and controls the content and information they post, as stated in our terms,” the statement read. “They control how that content and information is shared. That is our policy, and it always has been.”