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Blizzard Rolls Out Real ID Privacy Options
tacarat writes "The last time Blizzard mentioned their new Real ID system, there was a strong backlash from users over privacy issues. Blizzard reconsidered their plans to require real names for forums, and little has been heard about it since. Now, they've announced new privacy settings, allowing users to limit how their name gets shared or to disable the system entirely. Quoting: 'These options provide Real ID users with additional tools for customizing the service based on their preferences, enabling the ability to opt in or out of the Real ID "Friends of Friends" and "Add Facebook Friends" features or to turn off Real ID altogether.'"
You can turn it off 100% now with this change. Go to the same page the article mentions to change the settings and you can just turn it off.
You could already disable RealID support anyway, so I don't know what the OP is having a cow about, unless he wants no one to be able to use it. All this update does is give you a finer grain of options about how you want to use the service.
Before this change, if you decided to use RealID, you had no control over your friends' friends seeing your name and trying to add you to their friends list. This allows you to disable that, and a few similar options.
I've been waiting for this. There were a few friends I can finally add now because they didn't want to deal with the Friends of Friends feature, especially after one got essentially facebook stalked because of it.
It is opt-out by default. In order for anyone to see your real 'meatspace' identity, they have to request to be your RealID friend, and you then have to approve them. And in order for them to do that, they have to know one of the following:
- Your battle.net account name
- Be a friend of a friend of yours (who you would have approved by means of the above or below)
- Be a friend of yours on facebook, and you would have had to login via SC2 to your facebook account.
All of those require you to have done some deliberate action to get into the RealID pool. These new options let you disable #2 and 3, and let you completely disable RealID. You could already block requests.
You're entirely correct, but the Facebook reference isn't a good one for the simple reason that the Blizzard Real ID is pretty clearly marked and turning the whole thing off it is literally a single radio button. As compared to Facebook's labyrinth of menus to go through to figure it out.
And now half your complaint is gone - the other half is sure to follow. Seriously dude. Chill the fuck out.
Why are you so defensive and excited about this? It is you who needs to chill out.
Half my complaint is not gone at all because Blizzard were still stupid to even consider using Real ID for the forums in the first place.
I put my books on Amazon, Smashwords, Demonoid, ISOHunt and Pirate Bay. Search for 'Michael Cargill'
I'm pretty sure the Real Name Required / Made Public aspect was what people were up in arms about. Having the option to keep 1 friends list across all your alts is pretty universally desired.