With Facebook, your email preferences are just suggestions

I keep Facebook email notifications disabled. I just don't need them filling up my inbox. But every once in a while, Facebook will add a new email setting, and default your preference to ON. Even Jason Santa Maria tweeted about this, although in that case, it was a Facebook bug that reset email notifications for users.

But today, I received a Facebook marketing email. Annoyed, I clicked through to Facebook to disable that type of notification. Sure enough, I had already set my preference to NOT email me. But as it turns out, Facebook went ahead and sent me the email anyway.

You see, with Facebook, your email delivery preferences are really just suggestions. If they don't agree with you...well, sucks to be you.

That leads me to another point. If the new Facebook Messages feature is so great, why don't they start spamming me there instead?

Comments

Had this same problem this week. Got inundated with emails - everything from "likes" to comments to ads. All my notification settings were disabled as I get them on my phone. Drove me NUTS.
When I have not been on Facebook for a few days, I receive an email along the lines off: 'See what you have missed on facebook!' ...
with a summary of friend's status updates e.t.c. over the last few days.

It always triggers one of those tense moment where I consider to delete my facebook account to get rid of the feeling of being herded like a farm animal.

I have some notifications 'on' - like if people send me a message or tag me in a photo... but not peoples' status updates and that kind of junk. Anyway, the title and style of the 'missed' notifications is an insult to anyone's intelligence. What do they think people are?

I look forward to try Google+ ... I like the new interface of Google search, and hopefully that means that they have lifted their game for the visual appeal of their user interface designs;-) I think visual appeal is Google's weak spot and the reason they haven't succeeded with their 'social' attempts so far.

Facebook's weak spot is their corporate attitude as expressed in their many privacy blunders and default 'opt-in' settings, and re-opting-in after updates. That is much more serious.

Add a comment