From time to time, we look back at features we unveiled in the not-so-distant past, both because they're worth bringing up once again -- and to try and get more of a feel for what Multiply users think of them and how they use them.
This is one such look, but this time, it's a little different.
Today we're looking at a feature that's been available since day one: Multiply's extensive privacy options. You know, the ability to share what you want, with precisely whom you want.
While we've looked at this a few times in the past on this very blog, we think it's worth revisiting, particularly as more people join Multiply. We understand that newer members who've used other services to share their content may not be used to having such powerful ways of sharing while controlling their experience.
We took an extensive look at a few aspects of our privacy options about a year and a half ago, in a few installments that are still worth reading:
The privacy options, and the best-in-the-business flexibility of the privacy options, are really the #1 reason I'm on Multiply. I simply don't have the time or energy to replicate all this functionality on a personal site! :)
Thanks for this. I really like the privacy setting in Multiply. I'm new to this, been here for more than 2 weeks. I've just found out what's the difference between 'friend' and 'online buddy' relationship and how much it can help me. :)
pdxsean wrote on Oct 31, '07, edited on Oct 31, '07
Thanks for the great rundown of these options. They really do make 3x0 (Multiply) stand out, and I often take advantage of the "Post to selected individuals" blog. I've found the "list" function on that to be very handy as well.
I would suggest making the "manage lists" page a little more accessible. Right now, the only way I know how to get there is through the posting page. If there were a way to use these lists in the "My Multiply" custom filter... rather than having to type out each contacts ID... I actually assumed the lists were merged and was surprised to see that they weren't.
Anyway, fantastic product, it's certainly made me wonder why I stuck with 360 for so long. Thanks for the service, and I'll try to find the more appropriate place to send this suggestion/request.
We understand that newer members who've used other services to share their content may not be used to having such powerful ways of sharing while controlling their experience.
I'm a 360 refugee, and I must say that I absolutely LOVE the additional privacy features that you offer. I am a chronic blogger, sometimes blogging several times a day, but until now there has been some things that I couldn't blog due to their personal nature.
Multiply is great in that way. I can blog about the more personal things, and set it so only a select few who I have built trust with can see it. Thanks so much! Sure beats having to close the entire blog in order to share one or two personal things :)
Great stuff. It saves me sending out mass emails to everyone to remind them of important events such as the birthday, wedding anniversaries etc, of people on our list without them seeing it!
What about adding a feature that blocks certain people from viewing a certain post, with everyone else still being able to view it.. you know.. like for secrets and all those... coz its soooooooo hard to put everyone else on the list and just leave out one person or two!!! Please Please Please!!!
My favorite thing about this feature is those that don't understand how it works and bitch about how they don't have any privacy here because they have a ton of meaningless relationships....
this is what i like with multiply... you have the power to choose!.. the power to share or to make things privately.. but whats not good with this are the tons of updates... friends updates... even the single scratch that they are doing you are still informed about it... hehehe i believe that itl be better if you guys post the updates by summary..=) thats but i really love the provacy thing.. =) and when it comes to lay outing multiply is THE BEST...=)
Multiply Is The Best And Whom talks to us in posts - Even if you have not worked it out yet as loads have not - Not like some big hosts i know that USE Bots:- Multiply staff are here & there even where you dont know watching & helping & updating & upgarding the server & sites & groups & the other 100million pages + on multiply.com - and allways adding items & solving issue's or new problems from upgardes.. -- Welcome to all Yahoo 360 members now whom have joined us here on multiply.com.... ------- Thumbs Up To The Crew At - Multiply.com
I love the privacy options. I utilise them in a variety of ways as well. It makes it much easier to communicate effectively and safely. I just have two potential concerns and I say potential because it very well may be that it's just I don't know something about them - they are 1) everytime I sign into multiply I get a warning that it itsn't an encrypted page and that the information submitted could be seen by other users on the internet - does this mean it is not safe? 2) The profile information is as I understand it available publically and I don't know how to limit that - it seems that all the effort (and much apprecated effort it is) is on the blogs and content but the critical stuff - like my personal info is readily available to everyone and anyone (and that I'm not so comfortable with)
I think the ability to share specific content with everyone or a select few is the best feature about multiply.It has allowed me to share content I wouldn't have otherwise! Thanks Multiply!
Privacy is a huge concern on the internet these days and one of the main reasons I use Multiply. I like being able to specify who has access to each posting.
My one quibble is that I would really like to see "online buddies" defined as a completely separate category so that we can define access to certain postings as "friends" and not include "online buddies". I've had to decline contact invitations because of this problem.
I like it a lot, too, but I don't understand why you're contacts have to approve of when you decide to change the relationship. It is a fact of my life that I am closer to some friends than others and choose to share more with them, but I don't feel the need to articulate to each of them exactly where they stand and I CERTAINLY don't feel as though I need their permission to change how much I'm willing to share with them.
The privacy options on Multiply are the main reason I joined. I've always wanted to be able to share pictures and video clips of my children with friends and family on the Internet, but for many years I have refused to because I didn't want to post there pictures for everyone in the world to see. There are too many weirdos out there and the idea of a pedophile looking at pictures of my kids kept me from sharing there photos at all.
Also I have an older model kodak easy share camera and it uses quick time software for the video clips it makes. On other sights like myspace or you tube I can't my post video clips because of it. There sights aren't compatible with quick time. I'm told I have to buy a program that will convert my quick time videos into another format that is compatible with there sight, but here on Multiply I was able to post my quick time video clips with no problem!
I'm thrilled! I've already posted a few pictures of my kids and a couple of family video clips, something I would never have done in the past. Thank you so much for this great sight! :-)
We SERIOUSLY need a way to control whom is putting graphics on our pages. Please add a feature that we don't have to dump a friend who may occasionally FORGET.. Just something that we can point and click too.. that will give US control as to if we want others to be allowed to post graphics or not. Some folks are on dial-up.. and they can't access their blogs until the dang graphics are pushed down. We also need a little box to do MASS deletes from our guest comment boxes.. EVERYWHERE. Thanks!! I'll also let them know on MUD that this is a VERY needed set of options.
I CERTAINLY don't feel as though I need their permission to change how much I'm willing to share with them.
Don't forget that relationships are a 2-way street, By changing your relationship, you are changing how much you are sharing with them-- *AND* how much they are sharing with you. Do you want other people to be able to change the relationship without your consent, allowing them to see posts you didn't intend for them to be able to see? I doubt it.
What about adding a feature that blocks certain people from viewing a certain post, with everyone else still being able to view it..
This would be a great feature. There have been several occasions over the years I would have liked to post something to all my friends & family network except one person, as part of working on a surprise for them... But trying to do it as a private post, selecting just all the names but the one, is just too difficult - we have far too many friends and family (and their friends and their family) on Multiply to remember them all! (and Multiply is just a much nicer tool for mass conversation of this sort than e-mail...)
The best part of Multiply's security is that I can 'hang out' online with friends and family and be myself, but in such a way that I can control what a potential stalker or future employer might find out if they Googled me and found my Multiply site...
Definitely.. I like the levels of privacy.. Just wish it would go ONE more step and allow us to hide the email from our contacts. No I don't know all the people on my contacts list. But neither do I want to think twice or ask for identification if someone wants to be on my contact list. And let's face it.. my email address is dorky..
2) The profile information is as I understand it available publically and I don't know how to limit that - it seems that all the effort (and much apprecated effort it is) is on the blogs and content but the critical stuff - like my personal info is readily available to everyone and anyone (and that I'm not so comfortable with)
i don't have any clue about #1, but here's some info. on #2.
If you'd like to hide your last name, email address and birthday from everyone or even your network, go to settings > my account and then look for a line that says, "Who should be able to see your last name, e-mail address and birthday?"
If you'd like to make your profile private (or even just some parts private while leaving other parts available for all to see), click on the "View Profile" link at the bottom of your welcome message. Once you're viewing your profile, click on the "edit profile" link near the upper right. Then set the privacy settings of each section of your profile as you choose. (Talk about customizable privacy settings! Each section of your profile can have it's privacy settings done separately.)
And if you change all of these settings and then go visit your profile and still see lots of personal information there, remember that Multiply knows it is you who is visiting your own site and it assumes that it's OK for you to know the information that you've given. If you want to see how that page looks to other viewers, scroll to the bottom of the profile page and click on the link that says, "View This Page as Another User."
weeeeel, now that "The Multiply Blog" has mentioned it, i realize that i can't really use the privacy options thingy as of now. i never took it that seriously, mainly because my account is open for everyone to view. a large number of my contacts were labeled as "fraternity brothers/sisters", some, even grandmothers/fathers (some friends of mine), my crushes were labeled as wife/girlfriend. *grin*
a-ny-way, there are sometimes that i regret fooling around with the contact relationship feature, because there are times that i wanted to rant about something stupid, like how i wanted to have sex with this girl, and so on and so forth. (the private stuff).
thanks for the reminder, and jesus christ, i better fix those contact relationships.
I am a 360, WordPress and now a Multiply blogger and what i miss here is the Archives by month very much indeed. Particularly, now when tons of entries were suddenly brought over, so many excellent posts get lost in the flood, you know what i mean?!!
Keep so well and keep coming with grand ideas. Rii :)))
PS. The best for me in ere on Multiply is the facility to spell check and edit. Plus the thingie that the photos can be brought straight into the blog without a third party storage. Brill so tis.
>>is there a way to limit the extent of friends of friends of friends of your contacts? i like my contacts and his close circle of friends to view my blog but not necessarily the distant friends.
>>is there a way to limit the extent of friends of friends of friends of your contacts? i like my contacts and his close circle of friends to view my blog but not necessarily the distant friends.
Interesting question - the current access options include Contacts or Network, but what you're asking for is a middle level in between, in the same way that we can set up what we see on our messageboard: close network, medium, or distant. Sounds like a good idea to me.
A decent page/site counter built-in would be only fab, so it would. Please.
how do you envision this as different than the current viewing history that gives the number of unique viewers, the number of total views and the specific individuals who have viewed the blog and when they viewed it?
can you give me the multiply id of the staff i want to tell them something.
THEY CANCELED MY ACCOUNT WITHOUT GIVING ME A WARNING. All im asking is they must have given me a warning and delete the posts that violated the terms and conditions! but they never did it...
i want my site back... i maintained it for 2 years! :( richkid1609 is mu multiply id. thanks!
the current viewing history here is great compared to what was on 360,, i like being able to not only see who visited my home page but each of my pages,, if you want just a page counter you could probably find a website to d/l one from - but then thats what we had on 360 basically - i prefer what Multiply has
I have been here about two weeks and so far I love everything about Multiply. Everything works and it works well. The privacy settings are great!!!! Glad I came over, keep up the good work.
And don't forget about the integrated html functions. I just LOVE the fact that I can use html code in comments. That was something Yahoo! 360 seriously lacked.
As a new user here at Multiply, I have to say that the options you offer here are in fact OUTSTANDING ! 5 stars folks, honestly, top shelf. One of the things I like the most about this place are the privacy options I have here. I like being able to have complete control over who sees what on my page. I also like being able to share music here. That's one of the things I always wanted to do at 360 but could never do to my satisfaction. The music you listen to says a great deal about the type of person you are. Multiply has gained so many new users because Yahoo would never listen to what the users said. As a result, people are leaving 360 enmass because they can no longer tolerate the situation there. There are one or two other options I wouldn't mind having here, but when compared with what's already offered, I'm more than happy to go on without them. You've done a fantastic job building this site I I hope to be here for a long time to come. You truly offer everything I always wanted at Yahoo.
i am one of the refuge from y360 and i am loving this site"thank you" as far as inviting our friends here it was an awesome idea and really help a lot.One thing that i would like is to be able to keep my testimonial from friends and i dont see that profile here?would you give it some thought to maybe us being able to transfer it?
ladybettyjean wrote on Nov 2, '07, edited on Nov 2, '07
I am a refuge from Yahoo 360. Thanks for a nice place here . I got most of my friends here now with me on Multiply from 360 and I an having so much fun. Thanks for being so nice to us and I have even made other friends here, I have got invites from other people from Multiply, but due to the fact that I like to read each of my friends blogs and visit daily I have to limit my number of friends.Thank you for a great site and I love the tools . Oh, I almost forgot to mention the Photo Albums are great !! So thanks to you all here for the warm Welcome .
>>is there a way to limit the extent of friends of friends of friends of your contacts? i like my contacts and his close circle of friends to view my blog but not necessarily the distant friends.
i agree..much more specific. for instance, choosing only your 'fraternity brothers' to view a specific blog (or any other feature). saved lists (under individuals) also work, but i think showing the relationships while choosing the individuals conveniently works better.
I would like the option to hide my online status (a box I can check/uncheck instead of changing the css code), and for that matter also not appearing on viewing histories. Some days you just feel like looking without people asking later why you didn't answer their message etc. I like my privacy so this would be a bonus.
I'm glad that I left 360, and wish I have done it earlier.Your site rocks and is giving us a lot more tools to be use according to our needs of privacy and communication with other members. Even MySpace can't beat some of them, a specially in blogging area. Thnx - keep it up great work!
I am also a refugee from Yahoo 360; we that have found your site for the most part are very pleased with what you have to offer. We are use to a few things that you don’t have on your site like the page counter. We had those numbers to see how many times our page was viewed. No big deal because you offer the option of who has been here to view your page. That is something that for us that had stalkers, cloner’s, and trouble makers we couldn’t see who was there unless they made comments.
The option to pick and choose who can see your blog on a blog to blog basis is much better then having your blogs to just friends only. I can now post things to just friends and if it’s something I want to share with everyone I now have that option.
About the importing blogs the only down fall to that is the comments don’t come over with the blog. However I copy and pasted the important ones and I didn’t want to lose.
I also appreciate that fact that you get back to us and help us with the questions we have and for the most part in a timely manner. Us refugee’s aren’t use to that, you listen to us! For the most part my friends that came with me are of the age group that was being ignored from Yahoo.
I would like the option to hide my online status (a box I can check/uncheck instead of changing the css code), and for that matter also not appearing on viewing histories. Some days you just feel like looking without people asking later why you didn't answer their message etc. I like my privacy so this would be a bonus.
where can you see someone's online status?
I have been on here a year now and never seen that
We SERIOUSLY need a way to control whom is putting graphics on our pages. Please add a feature that we don't have to dump a friend who may occasionally FORGET.. Just something that we can point and click too.. that will give US control as to if we want others to be allowed to post graphics or not. Some folks are on dial-up.. and they can't access their blogs until the dang graphics are pushed down. We also need a little box to do MASS deletes from our guest comment boxes.. EVERYWHERE. Thanks!! I'll also let them know on MUD that this is a VERY needed set of options.
IThe one big issues I have is that there is no way of keeping my email from being seen even from my contacts . I find that to be very invasive and it is very inhibiting from making me want to make new contacts here. I think that your email should not be shown to anyone unless you choseto put it up that is a private thing. other than that I think most of the privacy options here are pretty good
As a 360 Refugee I have to say ... I love it here! The privacy options are tremendous and even though I have not yet mastered all your possibilities, I have seen enough to know I am here "forever". Thank you for your warm welcome here (your help was great) and for listening AND answering!
I am also transplanted from 360, better part of a week now.. You have a feature that I'm really not happy with and I need to address it.. When filling out the form you require us to put in our zip code, which I don't have a problem with.. But you need to make it where we can hide our location from other users.. You allow us to hide our age, but not where we live, and that to me is more important.. I happen to live in a very small town and could be found really easy if some demented person happened on my site..
*clap clap* compared to other online accounts, i say multiply is the best one ever had.. with its unique options like categorizing, descriptions, privacy options and many more on albums, personal pages, blogs, and contacts.. i can surely say having an account on multiply is a heck of a joy ride..! n_n thanks a lot..!
I am new to blogging. I have never done so before due to others telling me there was little privacy. I think multiply is on the right track with privacy. I feel safe to use this site to KIT with others.
I'm one of the people who fled 360, and I love it here! I especially love that I can control who sees what blog, and that I can block people entirely from my page. On 360, I was plagued by a stalker, and a few very pesky people, and I really am happy that I can blog here, and that they don't have access to me. I wish I'd found this site sooner. Thank you!
I cannot make come my 360 on multiply, in spite of all my attempts, I always have the same answer:Either the account information you supplied is incorrect or there are no blog entries in your account.
I wish there was a way to block the Page Visit history, some times I just like to look at other peoples pages but don't leave any comments, but I don't really like them knowing I was there so it keeps me from just surfing. If I choose to make contact with them I will but I don't really look around much knowing they can tell I was there. Just makes me a bit uneasy.
Yes I agree..it annoying to be listed as a page viewer whan your just roaming arond the streets looking for some ne to connnect to.So quit the the page veiwers.I like to surf in privacy.Im fronm 360 and Im NOT NOT NOT liking this so far..I guess Im different.Plus I dont like people knowing when Ive been online...when the last time Ive been onlinbe.Another thing I dont like is liver as a dinner food.
How many individuals can I add to a list? I keep getting an error message that says I've picked too many individuals and I'm getting slightly steamed. :P
How many individuals can I add to a list? I keep getting an error message that says I've picked too many individuals and I'm getting slightly steamed. :P
Yahoo 360 (that whose name cannot be mentioned but I have to here) has a Just Me setting which is useful for making changes etc prior to making things available to anyone else. Over here if I set it on family only but have no family members on my contacts list, will it have the same effect?
i love the provacy options but can you can add a feature on commenting like if your page is on public mode, multiplyeris, non members can leave a comment and also hiding the comments on contatcs/network..
I got no issues who is aware of my visits to their sites, and I definitely want to know WHO visited my site...
By the way... I was telling my friends, that Multiply will beat the rest of the blog sites in a matter of times - I've great faith in you guys, coz you've proven it as the years goes by!
Yahoo 360 (that whose name cannot be mentioned but I have to here) has a Just Me setting which is useful for making changes etc prior to making things available to anyone else. Over here if I set it on family only but have no family members on my contacts list, will it have the same effect?
First, you can "Preview & Spell Check" while you are composing a post.
Second, you can save a post that you just created as Draft. It will be available to you only and to none others while in draft status. When all the changes you wanted to make are done, click on the edit link below the post and set the appropriate access level.
Yes I agree..it annoying to be listed as a page viewer whan your just roaming arond the streets looking for some ne to connnect to.So quit the the page veiwers.I like to surf in privacy.Im fronm 360 and Im NOT NOT NOT liking this so far..I guess Im different.Plus I dont like people knowing when Ive been online...when the last time Ive been onlinbe.Another thing I dont like is liver as a dinner food.
If you don't want someone to know that you visited their pages, you need to visit their site as anonymous user (log out of Multiply site and go back to their site). However, you will only be able to view their "everyone" content. Their post that are published with limited access levels will not be seen by anonymous visitors.
The viewing history is there so that you can be aware of who is visiting your site. Would you like if someone visited your house without you knowing about it?
I am also transplanted from 360, better part of a week now.. You have a feature that I'm really not happy with and I need to address it.. When filling out the form you require us to put in our zip code, which I don't have a problem with.. But you need to make it where we can hide our location from other users.. You allow us to hide our age, but not where we live, and that to me is more important.. I happen to live in a very small town and could be found really easy if some demented person happened on my site..
There is a way to hide where you live (I just found this out recently). Just enter 00000 as a zip code. Your location will then show as US, not the town and state where you live.
I too am a 360 transplant and love the way we have been welcomed. It such a pleasant change from the way we were treated over there.
As a victim of a couple of stalkers, and spammers, not to mention that the ''ignore'' button over there didn't work, I appreciate the security measures taken here.
cam310, I hope this helps you with your situation.
This is really a cool feature...but would I be asking too much if we could still refine the privacy settings? Like for example, there are posts on my page that I would like to share with my co-workers but don't want to share with my manager or I would like my close friends to see my albums but don't want my online buddies to see...so if we could still choose which friends, which business contacts or which family members would be able to view our posts, it would be awesome!
I was once on Yahoo! 360 and had soo much trouble with stalkers and reporters. In the end, my account got deleted from the false reporting. However, I have found a real sense of peace here on Multiply!
The privacy settings are brilliant, and your page is a lot more private. No emails flying around, you choose who you want seeing what... I wish I'd never gone onto 360 in the first place! I should have just come here! xx
I like the security, but would LOVE a guest option for those less internet savvy family members like my grandmother... I would like to have a way to have a guest password so she could visit... like typing in butterscotch and being able to view everything... I've tried to help her with the settings as they are but they confuse her. Something on the lines that familylobbby has in the way of guest passwords would really help me.
The one big issues I have is that there is no way of keeping my email from being seen even from my contacts .
Yes, you're right. We should have a way of setting it to "No one" - at the moment the minimum level is Contacts, which as you say means that there's a risk in adding people you don't know as Contacts.
But having said that, I can't see where it is that we can see someone else's email address.
Editing to add: yes, I've now checked and you can see these details in the profile; so I guess the only way to prevent this is to remove the "view profile" link from your page. (I know it's possible - probably when customising your site.)
I like the security, but would LOVE a guest option for those less internet savvy family members like my grandmother... I would like to have a way to have a guest password so she could visit... like typing in butterscotch and being able to view everything... I've tried to help her with the settings as they are but they confuse her. Something on the lines that familylobbby has in the way of guest passwords would really help me.
yep i agree with the guest password... coz im having the same problem... since i blocked someone but still he can view my page by just logging out his account...
I know that there is some place that one can block HTML from being posted on one's page...unfortunately, I can't locate it...could you tell me where it is, please? Thanks, and have a great day!
We understand that newer members who've used other services to share their content may not be used to having such powerful ways of sharing while controlling their experience. 
