Facebook Says Your Email Is @Facebook

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Facebook Says Your Email Is @Facebook

Posted by timothy on Tuesday June 26, 2012 @12:48AM from the hey-man-that's-not-cool dept.

beaverdownunder writes "Facebook has been silently changing users' default e-mail addresses to their @facebook.com address in a move that Facebook claims was 'to protect users' and to create 'consistency,' but has been blasted by many bloggers and news outlets as 'Facebook's Lame Attempt To Force Its E-Mail Service On You,' and even characterised the move as a Man-In-The-Middle (MITM) attack on users' private correspondence. From the article: 'Many articles characterized the change as a ham-fisted way for Facebook to push its email system, which it first announced in late 2010. At that time the company said its goal was to integrate conversations across multiple channels of communication — text messages, Facebook chat, email, etc. Facebook seemed surprised by the reaction. 'We basically defaulted to show your Facebook address as we rolled this out, just to keep it consistent for everyone,' said Meredith Chin, Facebook's manager of product communications. 'I'm seeing this whole meme around the idea that it's us pushing for people only to use facebook.com addresses,' Chin said. "That was not our intention. We want people to use whatever's easier for them.''"

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There is not even a way to remove it! by brunes69 · 2012-06-26 00:51 · Score: 5, Insightful

Just went into my profile to try to remove / disable this POS and you are not even given the option to do so...
I am so close to closing my Facebook account it is not even funny anymore.
1. Re:There is not even a way to remove it! by Bill+Barth · 2012-06-26 00:56 · Score: 5, Informative
  
  You can't get rid of the address, but you can make it so that no one sees it. You can also display to whomever you like whatever address you like. The settings updates you have to make are pretty straightforward.
  
  --
  Yes...I am a rocket scientist.
2. Re:There is not even a way to remove it! by slyrat · 2012-06-26 00:57 · Score: 5, Insightful
  
  Just went into my profile to try to remove / disable this POS and you are not even given the option to do so...
  I am so close to closing my Facebook account it is not even funny anymore.
  Join the rest of us that left several months ago because of the increasing number of times that fb thought their views on privacy/settings/defaults was better than yours. At this point I only have a fb id so that I can be invited to events by others. Hopefully some sort of good event system will show up in one of the other social network sites.
3. Re:There is not even a way to remove it! by pegasustonans · 2012-06-26 00:58 · Score: 5, Interesting
  
  I am so close to closing my Facebook account it is not even funny anymore.
  Just do it.
  I deleted mine over a year ago and haven't missed it for a second.
  
  --
  And all our yesterdays have lighted fools The way to dusty death. --Will
4. Re:There is not even a way to remove it! by Anonymous Coward · 2012-06-26 00:58 · Score: 4, Informative
  
  Yes there is: Click "About" on your profile and scroll down to your email address. Click "Edit" to change them. Click on the circle next to your Facebook email address and change its setting to "Hidden From Timeline". Click on the circle next to your other email addresses and change their settings to "Shown On Timeline". Click the Save button at the bottom of the Edit popup (Don't forget this step).
5. Re:There is not even a way to remove it! by ai4px · 2012-06-26 01:13 · Score: 5, Insightful
  
  Absolutely... I closed mine over a year ago when I got tired of going back into my privacy settings and ratcheting them back down. The final straw for me was the auto tagging in pictures. With facebook, you are not the customer, you are the product they market to their customers. This is why your privacy settings are undone all the time.
6. Re:There is not even a way to remove it! by Anonymous Coward · 2012-06-26 01:18 · Score: 5, Informative
  
  Nobody sees it but everybody knows that given an url https://www.facebook.com/you there is an address at you@facebook.com
  The help reads that mail received by that address goes into facebook's messages. That would be good for spammers. I tried sending a mail to myself, still waiting for it to arrive or bounce.
7. Re:There is not even a way to remove it! by SuricouRaven · 2012-06-26 01:29 · Score: 4, Insightful
  
  What use is an event system on another social network, when all the event-throwers are on facebook? It's a perfect network effect: People use facebook because people use facebook.
8. Re:There is not even a way to remove it! by History's+Coming+To · 2012-06-26 01:30 · Score: 4, Informative
  
  You're looking for Diaspora. The idea is that it's a social network just like any other, except you can download the codebase and set up your own version on your own server, then you have complete control of what is/isn't available.
  
  --
  Please consider this account deleted, I just can't be bothered with the spam anymore.
9. Re:There is not even a way to remove it! by drooling-dog · 2012-06-26 01:36 · Score: 5, Informative
  
  At this point I only have a fb id so that I can be invited to events by others.
  Some old-timers once told me of a time when you could have friends and get invited to things without needing the services of a corporation that makes its money by knowing and selling every detail of your life, but I can't imagine how it was ever done.
10. Re:There is not even a way to remove it! by Opportunist · 2012-06-26 01:46 · Score: 4, Interesting
  
  Excuse me? Personally I'd be angry as fuck if someone changed some way of contacting me without informing me.
  I don't want to imagine what shitstorm was going on if MS pushed an update that "accidentally" changed your default browser to IE. Aside of the antitrust suit that slams them before the day is over. And, bluntly, I don't see how this should be different.
  
  --
  We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
11. Re:There is not even a way to remove it! by agentgonzo · 2012-06-26 01:47 · Score: 4, Funny
  
  There are other social network sites?
12. Re:There is not even a way to remove it! by citizenr · 2012-06-26 01:48 · Score: 5, Funny
  
  I am so close to closing my Facebook account it is not even funny anymore.
  No you aren't you sheep, stop fantasizing. You are a slave.
  
  --
  Who logs in to gdm? Not I, said the duck.
13. Re:There is not even a way to remove it! by Dishevel · 2012-06-26 02:14 · Score: 5, Insightful
  
  I make people who say that they are my friends call me, text me, send me an email. Heck. Sometimes they even stop by to say hello.
  Anyone in my circle of friends that insists that I need a Facebook account to be their friend is not a friend.
  
  --
  Why is it so hard to only have politicians for a few years, then have them go away?
14. Re:There is not even a way to remove it! by guttentag · 2012-06-26 02:17 · Score: 4, Funny
  
  You can't get rid of the address, but you can make it so that no one sees it. You can also display to whomever you like whatever address you like. The settings updates you have to make are pretty straightforward.
  Sally's Facebook Wall, sometime in 2013
  
  It's a Boy! David Zuckerberg Stevens joined our family this morning at 6:45 a.m. 7lbs 3oz
  ---
  Sally: OMG! I totally didn't type Zuckerberg! His middle name is Anthony! WTF FaceBook?!
  Judy: Relax! You can't get rid of the Zuckerberg, but you can just not use it in front of others and no one will know, except when you scold, "David Zuckerberg! Take your hand out of that cookie jar this instant!"
  Sally: Who are you?
  Judy: I'm your closest friend. We met when you called Facebook to close your account, and I talked you out of it. And remember when I talked you out of that abortion 8 months ago?
  Sally: Wait, are you FB customer service?
  Judy: We don't like to think of it that way.
15. Re:There is not even a way to remove it! by jdgeorge · 2012-06-26 02:35 · Score: 4, Insightful
  
  Consider the intent of Facebook's email service: To remove people's need or desire to use Google services (Gmail, in this case). The big picture goal is that Facebook effectively becomes the Internet for people, the way AOL used to be.
  For the spammer, the value of Facebook email is not clear, but Google's spam filtering isn't doing spammers any favors. It's possible that Facebook's spam filters will be as effective (or more? who knows) as Google's.
16. Re:There is not even a way to remove it! by Guppy06 · 2012-06-26 02:50 · Score: 4, Insightful
  
  The settings updates you have to make are pretty straightforward.
  Provided you know that you have to make the updates to begin with, what with the lack of any announcement and all...
17. Re:There is not even a way to remove it! by cpu6502 · 2012-06-26 03:25 · Score: 4, Funny
  
  I'm starting to agree on the "leaving" part (or at least stop using). Sure it's fun to reconnect with old classmates, but changing my default address from yahoo.com or gmail.com to facebook's service totally blows.
  What ALSO blows is making me identify pictures when I log-in from non-home computers. How on earth am I supposed to identify which of my 1000 friends is tagged on a Calvin&Hobbes cartoon? For that matter, some of my friends have grown old and changed appearance. I barely recognize them anymore. Basically: I can't login because I keep guessing wrong on the photos. Bullshit facebook. (My username and password should be enough to let me in.)
  
  --
  My AC stalker: " I personally agree with your posts most of the time, but that won't keep me from modding you troll"
18. Re:There is not even a way to remove it! by X0563511 · 2012-06-26 03:27 · Score: 4, Informative
  
  My special hate:
  Now I see status updates of pages liked by my friends, and the only way to get rid of them is to unsubscribe from the friend. I've taken to reporting every damn one of these updates that appear on my feed as spam.
  
  --
  For large sets, this will be our guide even unto death, for the LORD will work for each type of data it is applied to...
19. Re:There is not even a way to remove it! by RenderSeven · 2012-06-26 03:29 · Score: 4, Insightful
  
  It's possible that Facebook's spam filters will be as effective ... as Google's.
  Yes certainly! Facebook will block 100% of spam that hasnt paid a fee to Facebook. Hey, Zuck's gotta justify that 90 trillion dollar IPO somehow.
20. Re:There is not even a way to remove it! by IamTheRealMike · 2012-06-26 03:42 · Score: 5, Interesting
  
  It's makes little difference for spammers because Facebooks approach to spam filtering is, to put it mildly, "nuke it from space". Mail sent to you that isn't from a friend goes into the "other" section and generates no notifications at all. The only way to even know you have received such a message is to make a habit of going into Messages and manually polling the "other" section to see if there are messages there.
  This is insane. The reason people fought so hard to build strong spam filters that let strangers could mail each other is that the internet is about connecting people, even people who may not already be friends. I am not the type to have histrionics over changes Facebook makes, in fact I don't remember the last time I got really annoyed about a change they made. Far more of my friends care about the forced transition to Timeline than this. But Facebook fucked up email totally, which is why I don't use my @facebook.com address. I'm sure the average Facebook user never corresponds outside their circle of friends, but I have projects and interests that often mean wanting to contact people who don't know me (and vice versa). So it actually matters to me that people can find my email address and use it. Silently changing my settings like this pisses me off, and the absolute bullshit their PR flaks spouted about it just rubs salt in the wound. "Making addresses more consistent" - since when is consistency of domain name a factor in anything? What possible benefit does that have for anyone except them? Ugh. Google+ gets this right, incidentally.
21. Re:There is not even a way to remove it! by Grishnakh · 2012-06-26 03:56 · Score: 4, Insightful
  
  The user interface got worse and worse, each time the users accepted the new shitty UI and accepted it but it's getting to the point it's virtually abuse now.
  To be fair, it's not just Facebook where the user interface is getting worse and worse, it's EVERYTHING computer-related. I can't think of a single place where the user interface is actually getting better; they're all becoming horrible and dumbed-down and ugly. Windows 8 Metro: ugly, dumbed-down. Gnome 3: dumbed-down. Unity: dumbed-down. Gmail: ugly.
  Worsening user interfaces seems to be the big trend these days. I guess everyone's run out of genuinely useful things to do with their time (like actually improve their products), so now they're focusing on UIs to make their shit look "new", and in the process fucking it all up.
22. Re:There is not even a way to remove it! by ImprovOmega · 2012-06-26 04:09 · Score: 5, Insightful
  
  Here's a hint: if you and your friend don't care enough about each other to be in contact in some way that doesn't require Facebook to facilitate it, then you don't really have a friendship. In the old days if you lost touch with someone you just let it go, nowadays you have people on your friends list that you haven't physically been in contact with for over a decade and yet they linger. It leads to a certain stagnation in relationships that used to be pruned by the requirement of actually putting effort into maintaining real and close friends.
  
  I think Facebook and similar sites have their place, but to be honest, I think we overuse and misuse them.
23. Re:There is not even a way to remove it! by Obfuscant · 2012-06-26 06:03 · Score: 4, Insightful
  
  I'm not on timeline and I just edited my settings to not show the @facebook email address.
  Point 1: I didn't sign up for a facebook email address. Did you?
  Point 2: Facebook didn't bother telling me that they had created one for me that I needed to worry about. Did they tell you?
  Point 3: THEY WON'T LET ME DELETE IT.
  Point 4: The don't tell you how to delete it. They list both your initial address and the ficticious @facebook one with a checkbox next to each, and a link for "remove" hanging out in space. I checked the box next to the facebook address and clicked remove. It kept the address but drew a line through it. I tried to save that change and was told that I had to select a default address. WTF? If there is only ONE address, that's the default, you morons.
  Point 5: Not showing it to your friends is not the same as deleting it, or it not existing. What it means is that they can spam that address, and other can spam that address. It's a simple number. How long before the 1 .. 99999999@ spambots start up?
Bullpoop by organgtool · 2012-06-26 00:55 · Score: 5, Insightful

"That was not our intention. We want people to use whatever's easier for them.''

Whatever's easier for them is to use the e-mail address that they set up as their default before Facebook screwed with their settings. Changing users' settings without their consent is a great way to lose users. I should know, I dumped my Hotmail account for that very reason.
1. Re:Bullpoop by contrapunctus · 2012-06-26 01:38 · Score: 4, Interesting
  
  Also I think facebook really helped reduce chain emails (and forwarded jokes) since all the stupid people just go to facebook and share and leave me alone.
It's hard to hide not caring.... by Will+Steinhelm · 2012-06-26 00:55 · Score: 5, Insightful

Funny how people are always surprised by the reaction they get when they forget to consider others when making decisions
1. Re:It's hard to hide not caring.... by thePowerOfGrayskull · 2012-06-26 01:21 · Score: 5, Insightful
  
  Funny how people are always surprised by the reaction they get when they forget to consider others when making decisions
  Funny how people are always surprised by the actions others take, when you give others the rights to make your decisions for you.
Facebook logic by buchner.johannes · 2012-06-26 00:56 · Score: 4, Interesting

'I'm seeing this whole meme around the idea that it's us pushing for people only to use facebook.com addresses,' Chin said. "That was not our intention. We want people to use whatever's easier for them.'

So we made @facebook easiest.
To some degree I understand it though. Facebook hacks/bots becoming more and more common place. For 99% of normal users, they don't just have friends as "friends" ... and every one of those potential hack victims can see your email address and potentially harvest it.
Facebook should be aware by now that users don't like Facebook (the system) forcing some changes onto them, or changing their preferences to something "that is good for you". (See privacy settings, Timeline)

--
NB: The message above might reflect my opinion right now, but not necessarily tomorrow or next year.
1. Re:Facebook logic by thePowerOfGrayskull · 2012-06-26 01:25 · Score: 5, Insightful
  
  Facebook should be aware by now that users don't like Facebook (the system) forcing some changes onto them, or changing their preferences to something "that is good for you". (See privacy settings, Timeline)
  I'd say experience has taught them the exact opposite.
  A forced changes causes a vocal minority to be vocal. A fraction of a percent of the user base might close their accounts, but more likely they just talk about how they're really close to doing it. The noise dies down, the vast majority of their active users accept the changes and move on (if they're even aware of them). Facebook wins. A couple months later, rinse and repeat.
Facebook lies about it's actions..., again by Jawnn · 2012-06-26 00:57 · Score: 4, Insightful

"...a move that Facebook claims was 'to protect users' and to create 'consistency,' ... Yeah, right. Same shit, different day. I guess the amazing part is that they expect their lies to be believed.
1. Re:Facebook lies about it's actions..., again by localman57 · 2012-06-26 01:21 · Score: 5, Insightful
  
  I guess the amazing part is that they expect their lies to be believed.
  I don't think they expect you to believe it...Just tollerate it. Facebook basically assumes that if they piss you off in small enough increments, that only like 10% of people are actively considering quitting at any given time, they can be successful, because the 90% provide enough gravity to pull you back in. But there's a tipping point, and studies show that there really is a disproportionate amount of gravity around "cool kids", the most social people in your family, and other social people who act like "hubs". When these people move, they tend to pull others with them.
  
  The point of this is that FB is not a stock to have in your portfolio. Because they rely on being cool in order to continue to make money. But making more money than they currently make requires doing increasingly uncool things.
Yay , bring on the spam by Monoman · 2012-06-26 01:01 · Score: 4, Interesting

"Your Facebook email is based on your public username. Email sent to this address goes to Facebook messages."
http://www.facebook.com/help/?faq=224049364288051
So if I didn't want a public email address on my FB profile then why would I want one now?

--
Keep the Classic Slashdot.
1. Re:Yay , bring on the spam by BetterThanCaesar · 2012-06-26 01:26 · Score: 4, Insightful
  
  Your Facebook email is based on your public username.
  What this also means is that if you have someone's "public username", you don't need to see their profile to learn their email address. You can get the public username from any search or friend list, concatenate "@facebook.com" to it and start spamming.
  
  --
  "Stop failing the Turing test!" -- Dilbert
2. Re:Yay , bring on the spam by Ciccio87 · 2012-06-26 02:05 · Score: 4, Interesting
  
  Your Facebook email is based on your public username.
  What this also means is that if you have someone's "public username", you don't need to see their profile to learn their email address. You can get the public username from any search or friend list, concatenate "@facebook.com" to it and start spamming.
  Exactly, so, bring on not only the spam, but also fakemails / spear phishing
Re:The New Evil Empire by pegasustonans · 2012-06-26 01:02 · Score: 4, Insightful

How long before FB is hated and flamed as much as MS and Apple on /.?
Probably not before it slips away into the obscure forgotten Internet shoe-box along with Myspace and Friendster.

--
And all our yesterdays have lighted fools The way to dusty death. --Will
Deleted by mfh · 2012-06-26 01:06 · Score: 5, Insightful

Now that I've been off Facebook for a long time, whenever I see friends we actually have something to talk about, because I have no clue as to what's been going on with them. It's brilliant!
Try it! :)

--
The dangers of knowledge trigger emotional distress in human beings.
Likes = Adverts by Harold+Halloway · 2012-06-26 01:06 · Score: 4, Informative

I hadn't noticed this but in the last week or so I've noticed the appearance of ads masquerading as 'likes'. I'm getting all sorts of shit in my newsfeed on a regular (i.e. daily basis.) FaceBitch is definitely going out of its way to piss off users. Thank goodness for Social Fixer.
And what-do-you-know, it's PUBLIC. by DaneM · 2012-06-26 01:08 · Score: 5, Informative

I just checked my own Facebook info page and discovered that while my gmail address was still "Friends/not shown on timeline," my new Facebook address is "Friends/shown on timeline." Depending on exactly is meant by that last bit, it could explain why I'm suddenly getting about double the spam in my Gmail account that I was getting a month ago. (I get email notifications from Facebook sent to me Gmail account, as I suspect most people do.) Thank goodness for good spam filters...
There's a good reason why I ratchet-down my email address' availability on web pages, and apparently Facebook isn't nearly so concerned (which, of course, comes as no great surprise). I'd be curious to know if someone whose normal address is set to "hidden" now has a non-hidden Facebook address.
Also, the line, "We want people to use whatever's easier for them" has a somewhat different meaning when you're actively making it easier for those looking at a user's info page to see the @facebook address, rather than the one the user intentionally put there. Either the staff is oblivious, or they're being dishonest about their intentions. (Not sure, given their track record with privacy and such...)
Facebook is the new AOL by Anonymous Coward · 2012-06-26 01:19 · Score: 4, Insightful

they are essentially reverting the internet back to what it was in the mid-90's.
bullshit-o-meter is in the red by slashmydots · 2012-06-26 01:19 · Score: 4, Insightful

"That was not our intention. We want people to use whatever's easier for them.'' -- BULLSHIT! They want to control and read as many people's e-mails as possible so they can show them relevant ads and make money. More people, more money, the end. What exactly do they think such an unbelievable lie will accomplish? Ironic, considering Mark Z is all about openness.
Facebook is shocked at the response, REALLY? by realsilly · 2012-06-26 01:24 · Score: 5, Insightful

The entire purpose around user settings is to allow users to display what they want and to see what they want. So that means DON'T FUCK WITH MY SETTINGS. That means with every update don't check boxes that I didn't have checked before, don't force me to accept a change that gives me no way to say "No Thank You"
And the fact that Facebook was not prepared for the reaction it received is a bold-faced lie. If they didn't expect this reaction, it would not have be implemented so quietly. Facebook knew there would be controversy, again, thus the hush-hush.
On the other hand, Facebook is free to use, so it is in Facebook's interest to change the email address extension. If you were paying for your Facebook account do you really think there would be as many people on the site? Nope. So sadly, you're getting what your pay for, no fees, no freedom no privacy.
If you don't like the TOS, leave Facebook.

--
Life takes interesting turns, but the most interest is when you're off the beaten path.
1. Re:Facebook is shocked at the response, REALLY? by Anonymous Coward · 2012-06-26 01:41 · Score: 5, Funny
  
  And the fact that Facebook was not prepared for the reaction it received is a bold-faced lie.
  At least it wasn't Comic Sans. That would be a real slap in the face!
It's easy to spoof by tmshort · 2012-06-26 02:51 · Score: 5, Interesting

I didn't have any email addresses under my "About". Facebook didn't change my email addresses, it added the @facebook.com one to my About page. I was able to hide it, but you won't be able to get rid of it.
You can easily spoof FB messages to people using an unsecured SMTP server. I tried sending myself a message from my wife (not knowing my wife's FB or email passwords), and it worked; it looked as though the message were from her! Since there's no email headers to evaluate, you can't tell where it really came from. There is a little icon indicating that it is "Unable to confirm X as the sender." But it still shows up with her FB profile picture and full name (which I didn't provide in the email).
annoying as this was a data source for my phone by SCHecklerX · 2012-06-26 03:53 · Score: 4, Interesting

I noticed this the other day. I sync my phone with facebook for many of my contacts. Now I have an address book full of bogus email addresses where they were correct before.