• Los Angeles Times, Thursday, August 11, 2011 10:08 AM

Last month, LinkedIn notified users that it was making some changes. "Basically, the professional networking site now allows third parties -- people, products or services you have recommended on the site -- to use your name and photo in ads unless you opt out of a default setting," explains The Los Angeles Times. "It also allows LinkedIn partners to send you promotional content as part of a marketing or hiring campaign -- again unless you opt out of the default setting."

Same goes for third-party applications that have access to your data on LinkedIn unless you opt out. LinkedIn says these are applications you either installed or granted access to while you were using LinkedIn. Not surprisingly, consumers are protesting the changes.

In response, LinkedIn spokeswoman Krista Canfield stated: "The privacy and trust of our members is central to what we do at LinkedIn and, as such, we strive to remain true to our commitment of providing our members consistent, clear and easy-to-use controls for their LinkedIn account settings." For those who want to opt out of sharing with third parties and social ads, the LA Times has the step-by-step guide.

Read the whole story at Los Angeles Times »