Mar 16, 2011

Etsy privacy changes leave a lot to be desired

The Internet was all abuzz yesterday about Etsy's privacy snafu that made its buyer's full names and purchase histories available for everyone to see.

Anyone who searched for a person on the site with the People Search tool or - even worse - anyone who Googled a person's full name could see what he or she purchased from Etsy sellers. For buyers with purchase histories including items that may harm their reputation, this issue could present a particular problem.

After the problem received its fair share of publicity yesterday, Etsy moved fast and announced it made all purchases and feedback on Etsy private by default. A laudable move, to be sure, but there are still some things that should be changed.

One of our readers turned our attention to the fact that Etsy's claim that entering your real name when registering has been explicitly pointed out as optional is only partly true.

If you click on the "Register" link - or if you click on the "Sign In" link and then choose the "Register" tab - immediately after landing on Etsy's home page, you will be notified that sharing your full name is optional

No comments:

Post a Comment