Understanding Graph Search

Manila Standard Today, Lifestyle | February 7, 2013

I recently got my Graph Search on Facebook and, so far, it’s been fun using it. As the site rolls out the feature to more users, it’s important to know how this development will affect our experience and privacy on the social networking service.

With Graph Search, you have deeper access to all your friends’ (and even their friends’) Facebook footprint. Want to know what movies they like? Just type “Favorite movies of my friends.” This will show you the pages of films that your friends have “liked.” Same goes for music, books, places, events, activities and other things that can be “liked.”

This is a great way to discover the world around you. If you’re looking for a good place to dine near you, key in “Restaurants nearby that my friends have been to” or “Restaurants nearby that have been liked by people” and your choices will be right in front of you.

But this new function is not without a dark side. Searching for information with Graph Search yields results not normally visible and easily accessible just by visiting profiles—and this can be problematic for those who value their privacy. Some people may have kept their tagged photos hidden from their timelines, but these photos can be viewed, depending on the privacy settings of the original owner.

For example, I am friends with John and John is friends with Mary but I am not friends with Mary. If Mary tags John in a photo she uploaded and her album is set to “Friends of friends,” I will be able to see that photo if I search for “Photos tagged with John” on Graph Search even if John has hidden his tagged photos. I will not see it only if Mary’s album is set to “Friends only.”

Another example with the same premise (Mary is not my friend but we have one or more mutual friends): If I search for “Photos of Mary,” I will be able to see photos in which Mary is tagged in, even if she has restricted access to tagged photos on her timeline, as long as these are (a) public photos, (b) photos posted by our mutual friends and (c) photos posted by friends of our mutual friends that are set to “Friends of friends.”

The only ways I can think of for content you’re tagged in to be invisible to people outside your circle of friends when they search for your information is to (a) ask your friends to limit the posts’ visibility to “Friends only” and (b) un-tag yourself from the posts in question.