by Alena Isami

Created on: March 08, 2010

Google Buzz has created quite a stir in social networking privacy issues.  While most of the startup issues with privacy have been resolved, the fact remains that there are still things that Buzz users must be aware of since many may consider these things to be security issues.  Here’s how to handle security settings in Google Buzz.

Google Buzz’s privacy policy, issued February 22, 2010, explain what Buzz users must be aware of when using Buzz.

Public Profile

Anyone using Buzz needs to have a public profile (public means searchable on the web).  A profile will be automatically created for you when you turn Buzz on if you don’t already have one.  What kind of information is posted on your public profile?  According to Google, the profile must contain at the very least, your first and last name.  Any other information you provide is your option to furnish.  Lastly, while posting a picture is highly recommended, it’s not necessary to utilize Buzz.

Follow List

Google no longer automatically creates a follow list for you.  Instead, Google suggests friends for you to follow based on the amount of emailing and chatting you do with a person.  Users can then choose who they want to follow.  Users will also be suggested to others to follow.  As a security measure, Buzz users can decided if they want to display the list of people they follow and the list of people who follow them on their public profile.  They can also decide to block anyone following them.  Changes can easily be made in Google Buzz’s security settings.  What users can’t control is if another user they follow decides to make their follower list public.  They will remain on the other person’s public list. 

Posting

Posts can be generated as public or private and other users can be added to a post as needed.  What’s important to remember here is that Google Buzz combines all your Google based accounts including Twitter (when you decide to “connect” these accounts) and any updates automatically generates a post.  For example, if you connected your Twitter account to Google Buzz, any tweet you sent will become a post in Buzz.  With regards to photos, any pictures posted in Buzz will automatically generate a post and Google will open a Picasa account for you if you don’t already have one.  Buzz users have the option to opt out of including

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