Facebook Inc. (NASDAQ:FB) wants you to know that they value your privacy. How much? Well, on Wednesday, the company introduced a feature called “anonymous login”. What is that, you might ask? It means that you can sign into apps without having to share your identity.
So, now that your jumping for joy, here’s how and why it works. Say you are just tired and frustrated with Facebook, and other tech companies, sharing your information with advertisers. I mean, who isn’t every now and then, right? When you login anonymously, that practice can no longer take place.
You have also probably seen a multitude of apps that have the “Login with Facebook” button. However, perhaps you do not want all of your Facebook friends (real or not) seeing all of your Internet action on a daily basis. It’s almost has a “Big Brother” feeling to it, doesn’t it? Each time you use the “Login with Facebook” feature, Facebook shares your personal information with those apps and websites. That is how they get their button allowed.
Regarding the option, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg stated, “By giving people more power and control, they’re going to trust more apps. “We know some people are scared of pressing this blue button. We want to do more to put control and power back in people’s hands.” It seems that Facebook does, in fact, know everything.
In addition, another option will let you control (on a line-by-line basis) how much advertisers see of your personal data. So, you can choose to login anonymously or semi-anonymously. Right now, the feature is available on Flipboard. More apps will let you login anonymously within the coming months.
