Tips for Facebook Timeline Apps: Beware What You Share

CIO — Facebook opened the floodgates to its "new class of apps" Wednesday, unveiling its partnership with more than 60 applications that let users share more about their daily lives.

In September at the F8 developer conference, CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced Timeline, Facebook's new profile design, and the forthcoming apps that "let you express who you are through all the things you do," according to Facebook.

For example, rather than "liking" something as you traditionally would on Facebook, you can now show what you're doing, such as running, eating and watching, right on your timeline. These new actions are determined by the individual app.

Among the 60 new applications released yesterday are food apps Foodily, which helps you discover recipes and Snooth, a wine recommendation app; fitness app MapMyFitness, in which you log and share your fitness goals and accomplishments; and an app for Pinterest, an up-and-coming social network that creates pin boards for fashion, decorating and more.

Other categories include music, entertainment and news. You can view the full list of apps and drill down by category, here.

While Facebook hopes these new apps will keep you on its site longer, you can expect another change, too: a lot more noise in your Ticker and News Feed, and an influx of over-sharing.

Knowing your application settings is key to keep you from becoming that person in your circle of Facebook friends. Here's a look at the settings that are available for these new apps and how to adjust them.

Facebook Apps: Choose Your Settings Before You Download

For some, the process of quickly clicking through the Facebook app install prompts is automatic: If you're not paying attention, you'll miss the opportunity to set your privacy settings before you start using the app.

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