That bogus Facebook privacy warning? Feel free to ignore it.

There's a bogus Facebook privacy warning that's been widely shared over the past week, and you can completely ignore it because it doesn't change any of Facebook's terms or rules.

The New York Times's Daniel Victor wisely pointed out on Monday that the warnings to protect your photos and information from copyright infringement have been around for years, spread by less-aware Facebook users. There are many versions of the disclaimer, but I recently saw a new twist posted by a teenage relative of mine (who shall remain anonymous):

Now it's official! It is published in the media. Facebook has just released this entry price: $5.99 to keep the subscription gold of your status of life "private". If you paste this message on your page, it will be offered free (I said paste, not share) if not, tomorrow all your posts can become public.

A search for the first sentence reveals many similar public posts on Facebook from strangers. Perhaps you have seen a similar hoax disclaimer on your feed — posted by a parent's friend or an old high school buddy who added you after that barbecue last summer. Anyway, buyer beware: Don't pay for Facebook privacy, because you don't have to.

Will you join us?

Our biggest supporters are our readers — and we’re so grateful to everyone who has made a contribution during our September campaign. We’re less than 1,000 contributions away from reaching our goal for the month, which in turn will allow us to say yes more often when our incredible journalists come to us with questions they want to answer and projects they want to pursue. Will you make a contribution before the month ends and support our policy coverage through 2024 and beyond?

One-Time Monthly Annual

$5/month

$10/month

$25/month

$50/month

Other

$

Yes, I'll give $5/month

Yes, I'll give $5/month

We accept credit card, Apple Pay, and Google Pay. You can also contribute via