Google has been applauded by some members of the blogging world for taking another step to rectify the privacy issues highlighted after the launch of its social networking tool Buzz.
Yesterday afternoon the search firm said in a blog post it would be introducing a confirmation page, allowing Buzz users to review their settings.
Social Media site Mashable, said: “The page isn’t anything new — it’s really just the Google Buzz settings page. However, Google’s taking a step in the right direction by giving every user a big opportunity to change their privacy settings. It had to be done.”
“Despite the scandal surrounding this single feature, Google’s Gmail and Buzz have a powerful privacy advantage over Facebook and Twitter”, said Wired’s Eliot Van Buskirk, noting that the secure HTTP connection means you do not need to be as concerned about people picking up your private communications.
Google launched Buzz at the start of February, hoping the tool which is attached to Gmail, would give it a healthier slice of the social networking marketplace. However, the US firm soon found itself defending Buzz following major concerns over privacy.
Within days, Google said it would remove a controversial feature which meant contacts on Gmail would automatically be followed by Buzz.
In a blog post at the time, Buzz product manager Todd Jackson, said: “We quickly realised that we didn’t get everything quite right. We’re very sorry for the concern we’ve caused and have been working hard ever since to improve things based on your feedback. We’ll continue to do so.”
Not all bloggers are convinced however. Christopher Dawson, writing on ZDNet said while he likes Buzz, he believes it has been “so tainted by its launch” that it could be beyond repair.