While most of us are busy getting the last couple of Christmas gifts and arranging for the holidays Facebook has recently implemented new  privacy settings.

Last week, some of us may have been surprised to login to Facebook and find that new privacy settings had been put into practice. Others, may not have thought more of it but surely many individuals and organisations did not fail to recognise possible risks associated with the update. Many agree that the new settings are not to be overlooked.

Executive director Marc Rotenberg from EPIC (US Electronic Privacy Centre) means that it is unfair from a privacy perspective to individual users. Consequently EPIC has now launched an analysis of the possibility to trickery. Furthermore, the Electronic Frontier Foundation explains that the new parametres are pushing the user to share more information. Those are just a few of the criticisms that have been received within the last week. Undoubtedly, the credibility and intention of Facebook's  new privacy settings are being questioned.

However, the popular social networking explains that the new settings have been put into practice in order to improve  the management  and sharing of information. Facebook explains that this is in line with the developing online technology world. Remarkably, criticism points to a fine tuning of security settings that unduly  leaves the user vulnerable to privacy risks.

How many of us simply do not have the time to continuously chase up on privacy settings?  Just understanding the settings on Facebook can be a great challenge for numerous users and many are not aware of how to properly configure their settings on Facebook. All the more reason why having the standard setting on visible to "everyone" puts the user at an immediate disadvantage.

With that in account multiple criticisms heed the security settings as weak. It is important to arrange your privacy settings effectively but what is more significant is being able to use the Facebook features without negative repercussions.

Remember to be careful with the information you share and how you chose to share the information when you are out there Facebooking with your friends and family this holiday.