Customized profile accessibility and privacy for users of social networks

Social networking applications have become a very popular means of communication and interaction in recent times and user participation has increased tremendously. It has become a norm that personal information is constantly shared with other social network users. The types of data uploaded and shared on user profiles also include sensitive information that one would rather it was accessible to a select few. The issues of security and privacy although very important seem to be a secondary consideration in the development and extensive usage of social networks. This paper highlights the potential attacks owing to the vast amount of user personal information available on social networks. The paper is concluded with proposing a theoretical model aimed at resolving the problems associated with the current default privacy and wider accessibility design implemented by most social networks.