Private Profiles are Showing Up in Search Results

[Jeff Bean]

I thought private profiles would not show up in search results. I did some testing and found that on my network they do.

Whether visibility is set to "members" or "just my friends," the profile will show up in a search run by a non-member.

Eric, this is exactly opposite of how you explained it works in this discussion here, started by Thomas Lindeyer. You said before, that people "assume that a private profile means privacy from search."

I agree. I would like for it to work as you explained then.

Ironically, what I am experiencing in my testing is exactly what Thomas asked for: that profiles set to private would show up in search results, but just not display their detailed information.

To check, search our network wsba-adr.org and search members for guest. You'll find in your search results two members with private profiles: Guest One (visibility set to members-only) and Guest Two (visibililty set to "just my friends."

There's also the same problem with browsing private profiles from the member page. Non-members can browse to private profiles, whether the visibility is set to members-only or to "just my friends."

Maybe in the last few months the policy has changed? Maybe you've implemented Thomas' "half-way house" solution? If so, I'd sure like to have the option to go back to the way you described it was.

Or maybe this is a bug? Let me know if I need to start a ticket.

[Eric Suesz]

Please do submit a ticket if you think that the platform isn't working as it should. 

[Jeff Bean]

If this isn't what it's supposed to do, that's good to know! Will get a ticket in pronto.

[Eric Suesz]

I could definitely be wrong about that. It could be that profiles show up in search, but you can't click through and view them. In any case, our support team can tell you definitively how it works. 

[Jeff Bean]

Eric, yes, that was it. Here's Blake's description:

Members with private profiles will be retrieved by searches, but won't be accessible unless you meet the minimum qualifications for viewing those pages (ie: are a member/are a friend). This is similar to the way Facebook and other platforms, as well as other features within Ning Networks (eg: groups), work in that you can view minimal information but not see the full page. I ran a search for Guest One and Guest Two as a non-member and can confirm they aren't viewable: http://screencast.com/t/hFiSdlZD7k //http://screencast.com/t/6UBRxAWaF5hi. Bear in mind that the signed out version of networks is cached for 10-15 minutes and may not reflect profile privacy changes until that cache clears. I'll forward your idea for un-listed members to our product and search groups, though I don't know if that'll be something we can modify.

All good to know. It's mainly a matter of understanding how it's supposed to work. For me, I'll explain it others that "Private" means your information is private; it doesn't mean that the fact of your membership here is "secret!"