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As a parent with a minor child who has a Facebook account, I'd like to know if there is any way, short of having her show me her privacy settings, that I can detect if my child (friend on Facebook) is blocking parts of her account from me?

Inspired by: Is there a way to hide status updates from a friend on Facebook?

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    This defeats the whole purpose of privacy in blocking no ?
    – phwd
    Commented Jul 1, 2010 at 11:33
  • This comes down to a) how much did you teach your kids about 'the Web' and b) how much do you trust your kids. Neither of this should be implemented by software.
    – jhwist
    Commented Jul 1, 2010 at 11:35
  • @phwd - there's a subtle difference between not having access and knowing whether or not you have access.
    – tvanfosson
    Commented Jul 1, 2010 at 11:36
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    For the record: I trust my child and have no problems with her FB usage. I have this pesky commitment to contribute questions during the beta period and I thought that this might be a common question once the site goes live.
    – tvanfosson
    Commented Jul 1, 2010 at 11:51
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    The site is the real site to actually be used no seeding Refer to Meta meta.webapps.stackexchange.com/questions/22/…
    – phwd
    Commented Jul 1, 2010 at 11:59

3 Answers 3

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You are basically going to have play with your own privacy settings to understand how it works. (A second way would be to compare the appearance of the profile on your account versus a next account , yes ...very obvious)

Once they are signed up there is nothing you can do about it (minor or not)

We appreciate your concern for your child's use of our website, but unfortunately we cannot give you access to the account or take any action on the account at your request. We are generally forbidden by privacy laws against giving unauthorized access to someone who is not an account holder. Please note that all users ages 13 and older are considered authorized account holders and are included in the scope of this policy.

We encourage parents to exercise any discretion they can on their own computers and in overseeing their kids' internet use. If you are a parent, you might also consider using software tools on your own computer in order to do so. Please do a search for computer-based Internet control technology on your preferred search engine to discover options that you may wish to pursue.

Please also talk to your kids, educate them about internet safety, and ask them to use our extensive privacy settings.

http://www.facebook.com/help/?faq=16104

Some signs that they are blocking you.

  • Cannot see the wall tab
  • Clicking on View more Photos only results in one photo
  • Ability to mention with the @ sign
  • Cannot send messages

For individual wall posts that would be tricky and I would say you are stuck. Someone can comment and provide a suggestion for wallposts.

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For privacy, Facebook specifically prevents you from doing this.

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Of course there's a way: Just ask your child.

Oh, and since your child is minor: You can try mailing Facebook with a proof of your parentship and they probably will answer you with the information you need. Facebook doesn't seem to answer these kind of questions.

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  • Indeed. If you are legally responsible, then you are required to have personal access on the client-side. Commented Jul 2, 2010 at 10:13
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    I'm not that sure in US law, at least German and most EU laws requires websites to respond to such queries
    – neo
    Commented Jul 2, 2010 at 10:16

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