This post could be titled “The Almost Perfect Way to Make a Security Change on a Social Site”

This morning I got the following email from Etsy. We sell some templates there so this is in reference to a new site feature that will go live in the next few weeks:

Now, upon first reading this, you might think “Awesome – Etsy actually notifies their sellers IN ADVANCE about a feature that might affect their privacy, security, and usage of the website. What a marvelous approach.”

But look closer… yes, they are telling us in advance. Yes, there will be an opt-out checkbox AFTER the feature goes live. Sigh….. so close, yet soooooooo far away from doing what is ultimately in the user’s best interest here. Etsy should have:

• Planned to make the feature OPT-IN only
• Sent the great email above, describing what’s happening and how to opt-in
• Altered their privacy policy to reflect the changes, as they have done
• Set all users up to NOT automatically be using the new feature (disabled by default)
• Done whatever marketing is necessary to convey the benefits of the feature after launching it

But they didn’t, and just like Facebook’s new privacy setting automatically enabled for all users the other day, they have not done the right thing by the population at large. When will these companies ever learn the boundaries of user experience, security and privacy???