A security firm has suggested that more than half of Facebook users are considering deleting their profile from the site because of privacy concerns.

 

According to Sophos, a computer security organization, concerns about privacy are running so high that 60 percent of the 1,588 Facebook users questioned said they were considering deleting their accounts. An additional 16 percent said they had already stopped using Facebook because they felt they had inadequate control over their data, while a quarter said that they would not be quitting the social networking site, which has almost 500 million users worldwide.

 

Although Facebook is expected to look again at its privacy policy in the coming days, it may not be enough to halt an online campaign for a mass Facebook "suicide" on May 31, with thousands of users encouraged to delete their accounts, Sophos says.

 

"This poll shows that the majority of users are fed up with the lack of control that Facebook gives users over their data," says Graham Cluley, senior technology consultant at Sophos. Most still don't know how to set their Facebook privacy options safely, finding the whole system confusing. What's needed is a fundamental shift towards asking users to 'opt-in' to sharing information, rather than to 'opt-out'. A mass exodus from Facebook seems unlikely, but users are clearly getting more interested in knowing precisely who can view their data."