Let’s be honest! Do you pay attention to the social media privacy policies?

In this week, we explore the issues of privacy and ethics on social media. I would say this is a rather important topic that a lot of people unfortunately do not really pay attention to, simply because people are more interested in good "stuff" that social media provide, and more often than not do not give a dime for the safety and security of the information they are sharing on the platforms.

So when was the last time you read a privacy policy of a social media or networking site which you signed up for? In reality, you will be surprised to know that most of the major social media sites which you may be using now are sharing your personal information with third parties. But wait a minute.....did you actually authorize them to do that? OF COURSE YOU DID, the moment you signed up and clicked on that "allow access to your personal information" button during the registration stage.

Here’s what three major social networks are sharing about you with others (without your consent, perhaps!):

Facebook - We are all big time users of Facebook, but do you know that it is one of the biggest "sharer" of your information with their partners, advertisers and developers?

Twitter - Now who doesn't love to tweet? But do you know that Twitter reserves the right to sell all of your information in case of bankruptcy, sale, merger, or acquisition of the company? Yes, this is right there in the fine prints of its privacy policy that you had agreed on by using the platform.

Pinterest - You have the rights to use the platform to search for resources, curate items or market your products, but Pinterest also has the rights to share your personal information; such as your names, emails, phone numbers, with third party companies.

Knowing the privacy policy of the social platforms that you are using may just be the first step to understanding privacy issues on social media, the many threats that you face, how you can manage your privacy control settings on these sites, and ultimately how to protect yourself and your personal information on social media.