Facebook enables visitor tracking

The social networking site today announced a shift in privacy settings that enables users to track visits to group pages they are members of.

Online speculation now suggests the change could be applied to personal profiles as well, which many believe could create a shift in user habits.

"Tracking group pages will not change the habits of users but if the switch was made to profiles then it certainly could happen," says Martin Cocker, director of internet safety group NetSafe. "There is no obvious negative safety concern and I believe people will view it as a good thing given it will improve the transparency of the site. But Facebook will keep a check on the progress and make an informed decision.

Keeping tabs on the lives of family, friends, ex-partners or complete strangers is a popular feature of the website but fingerprint-free stalking may become a thing of the past.

Facebook uploads over 250 million photos per day with 526 million users trawling through profiles, photos and posts in a generation of snoopers.

Knowing who is checking up on you sounds appealing but the reversal could bring an interesting dimension to the social networking site.

What do you think? Would Facebook fingerprinting change the way you use the site?