For others, meanwhile, the bungled release only proves that Facebook still has a lot to learn about user privacy
concerns and clear communication.
Privacy researcher Christopher Soghoian tells CNNMoney.com that Facebook
botched the message by publicizing the change on its developer's blog. "They should have had an announcement: 'This is why were doing this, and is why it's not a privacy problem,'" he said.
According to Facebook, it plans to re-enable the feature once it has figures out how to better educate users about the risks
associated with sharing such information.
"Sharing a home address and/or mobile phone number isn't something its 600 million or more users should be able to do without thinking
things through a little," writes TechCrunch. "It's Facebook's responsibility to
explicitly warn users about the risks involved."
With or without explicit warnings, however, many critics don't think the change is a good idea. As HuffPo reports, internet security firm Sophos warns that the new policy "could herald a new
level of danger for Facebook users," noting, "the ability to access users' home addresses will also open up more opportunities for identity theft, combined with the other data that can already be
extracted from Facebook users' profiles."