Facebook Bullies Users into Adopting Email Address

• by Brandon Dimmel on 20120626 @ 06:44AM EST | google it | send to friends
• Filed under Internet | (related terms: facebook.com email address, main facebook, social, service, spam)

That sneaky Facebook. For years, the social networking site tracked its users' online activity and sold the information to third-party advertisers. Now the company has decided to force a new @facebook.com email address on all its users, even those who have not signed on for the service.

Worst yet, the social media company has plonked its new email address right onto its users' main Facebook page.

According to reports, the email address now appears on everyone's main Facebook page and cannot be deleted. However, users can choose to hide the @facebook.com email address from public visitors, as well as from friends and family.

Facebook Becomes Responsible for Filtering Spam

The good news is that messages sent to the new @facebook.com account will appear only in the Facebook messages folder. They won't be redirected to a main email addresses (unless this is what users want).

Unfortunately, unless users decide to hide the new email address, it will be published publicly.

As a result, Facebook users will have little control over who sends them an email message. It also leaves Facebook responsible for providing an effective spam filter. Many people have doubts that the company is capable of doing that.

As one might expect, many technology insiders are upset with these changes by Facebook.

"The real problem is that Facebook has once again made a significant change without informing its users of any of this," said PC Mag's Jill Duffy. (Source: pcmag.com)

"Don't do this again," admonished popular tech blog Gizmodo. (Source: gizmodo.com)

Personal Emails Hidden in Favor of @facebook.com

The problem for many Facebook users who have chosen to display their personal email addresses is that Facebook, without authorization, has posted the new @facebook.com email address on their main page.

For example, the email address 'JohnSmith@hotmail.com' has now been changed to 'JohnSmith@facebook.com'.

Facebook has been offering an email service since November 2010. At that time, the company announced it would be "providing an @facebook.com email address to every person on Facebook who wants one." (Source: arstechnica.com)

It would appear Facebook has now taken that announcement a step further by forcing a new email address on every member, even those who did not request one.

Free video: Windows 7 Tips and Tricks. In the Windows 7 Tips and Tricks video tutorial, author David Rivers shares tips and shortcuts to work more efficiently and get the most out of Windows 7. The course includes tips for controlling Windows with the mouse and keyboard, customizing the display, working with utilities, protecting your privacy on the Internet, improving the performance of the operating system, and more. Topics include: Customizing the shutdown button, Resurrecting the Quick Launch bar, Previewing files in Windows Explorer, Disabling taskbar balloon tips, and more. Click here to download this video now! Note: this video is free, but registration is required; after that, you can select more ebooks and videos for download without registering again. If you have questions / problems with the registration form, please read this.