The New Facebook Couple's Page

I joined Facebook in 2007 around the time I was about halfway through my master's degree and friends and course-mates were beginning to disperse after the end of our first semester. It was a way to keep in touch and also share some news with them where ever they ended up. Since then I've been in one relationship that ended and then I've got married. In none of those relationships did I use the Facebook option of displaying to the whole world, or at least to one's friends that I was "In a Relationship".

I remember that I did share pictures of my engagement ring after Atala's proposal, and also of pictures of my wedding. The sharing was to custom lists and now the pictures are hidden completely and only I can see them. That is one thing I like about Facebook, the tools it provides to help us, the users, protect our privacy if we want to. But there are other loopholes and oversabi that make me shake my head at them.

For instance, after my page became public and used to network for my books and this blog, I indicated that I was married in order to check mate some of the unwanted and unwarranted attention. Funny enough, Facebook sent out a notice to all my friends and subcribers that I just got married on the day I set that up. Same thing happened when I set up my mum's profile indicating she was married. The public blast is irritating because not only is the date wrong, you may not also want to let everyone know.

And now this new development where Facebook recently announced a new tool called couples pages, an addition to the Friendship Pages. Friendship pages has been around for a while now and if you go to your friend's profile and click on the gear icon to the right, the first option is to "see friendship". You can also access the friendship page by hovering over your friend's name and clicking see friendship in the pop up under their picture.

Mine and Vera's friendship page

With the new couples pages, users who have listed that they're 'In A Relationship' with someone will have a new profile created for them and their SO as long as both are on Facebook. What's more, if they browse to www.facebook.com/us, they will be redirected to a timeline or old profile page detailing the relationship.

I don't think I'll be using the couple's page because though I listed I was married, I did not indicate to who and so the relationship cannot be linked to the new page. I wouldn't have minded the new couple's page so much, but the thing is, it is not only the users who are in the relationship that are able to see their couple's page. If you have listed your significant other on your profile, then people can visit your couple's page by clicking on the relationship listing right under your profile picture.

The couples page is automatically set up to include a cover photo if it is timeline, or one or the other's profile pictures, the relationship status (e.g. married or in a relationship since [Year]), your status messages on each other's profile, your mutual friends, pages or groups that both of you like and the events that both of you have shared or attended.

If you are listed as in a relationship and you added who you are in a relationship with, the new pages is automatic and so you cannot reject it. But there is a way to limit what info goes on there, and what people who click over to the page can see. Simply ensure in your privacy settings that your status updates can only be seen by custom people, same with your pictures. You can also set it up so people cannot tag you in pictures.

So what do you think of the new couple's pages? Have you tried it out? Will you use it and even actively share your relationship with others?