I joined Facebook to keep up with Family and Friends. I didn't put a lot of information in my profile because I am a bit paranoid about what I put on the web any where.
Turns out I was right to be concerned and my paranoia probably kept my personal information from being posted on other sites. As it is I don't know what might or might not be available elsewhere.
Facebook has certainly done a number on the members and unfortunately most don't even realize it as they are too involved with all of the games and third-party apps on Facebook.
There are tons of tech sites bemoaning what Facebook is doing to privacy for it's members. Or I should say, doing to lack of privacy for it's members. A lot of savvy members are leaving Facebook or so they think/hope. There is some doubt that profiles are actually being removed.
To add insult to injury, it appears the Facebook founder has really insulted Facebook members by calling them a very un-complimentary name.
I have checked my settings regularly. Each time Facebook 'updates' the privacy policy, everything is set back to 'everyone'. This totally flies in the definition of privacy. Once a user has set their options to only 'Friends', those settings should stay that way. And even if a user checks those settings to 'Friends only' there is another rather well hidden option that may allow the user's posts, photos, etc. to be displayed all over the web.
There is another option that should increase your Facebook safety. Screenshots
I am going to keep my Facebook Account. If I need to alert one of my Friends or Family members, I will do so by private email. In the meantime I will continue to monitor my privacy settings. While writing this page, I checked my settings and Facebook had AGAIN! changed my settings to Everyone. Grrrrrr!