Privacy in iTunes Ping
Ping is Apple's music-centric social network that is integrated into iTunes 10. From a privacy standpoint, it's pretty straightforward--as opposed to Facebook's multitude of privacy settings--but then again, Ping is also very limited as to what services it offers. In either case, here's a quick run-down of the privacy features present in Ping.
Ping is off by default, but when you click Ping in the source list on the left-hand side of the main iTunes window, you'll be presented with a message describing what Ping is, and a button that lets you opt in to Ping.
Once you switch Ping on, you'll get a step-by-step wizard that takes you though setting up your account profile and adjusting your privacy settings. Ping requires you to provide your name and gender; the rest of the fields--for your location, photo, and bio--can be left blank. Note that if you change the name displayed for your Ping profile, it changes the billing name for your entire iTunes account. Personally I don't think this is a very good idea, especially for those who may use their full names for billing purposes, but go by a nickname otherwise.
