Original URL: https://www.theregister.com/2009/12/11/zuckerberg_pix_expose/

Zuckerberg pictures exposed by Facebook privacy roll-back

CEO shown 'plastered', possibly while devising new policy

By John Leyden

Posted in Security, 11th December 2009 15:15 GMT

Illuminating pictures of Facebook chief exec Mark Zuckerberg have been exposed by Facebook's privacy roll back.

Back in October, the world at large could see only one photo of the Facebook co-founder via the social networking site. Facebook's controversial privacy shake up this week means that world+dog can now obtain access to a cache of 290 previously private shots featuring Zuckerberg. These pictures were uploaded either by Zuckerberg himself or by people who tagged him in images they posted onto the social networking site.

Gawker - which carries a selection of pictures of Zuckerberg in a story here - describes them as showing him as "shirtless, romantic, clutching a teddy bear, and looking plastered" though not all at the same time, we'd hasten to add.

"We just knew this new system would be a boon to gossips like ourselves," Gawker enthusiastically reports.

Security watchers and the privacy conscious complained that default setting applied in Facebook's privacy revamp earlier this week meant that everyone had access to pictures, opinions and personal details uploaded onto the social networking site. Users have to be proactive about limiting access to their accounts because the default setting pushes Facebook users towards sharing more information.

Zuckerberg's event calendar and photo albums were left publicly accessible by Facebook's privacy changes, blogger Kashmir Hill (credited by Gawker for breaking the story) reports. A quick perusal on Zuckerberg's profile shows his photo album for a recent trip to Sao Paulo, Brazil remains open to world+dog.

Users who would rather retain control on who can see their pictures or other personal information would do well to steer clear of Facebook's recommended settings. ®