Opt In, Opt Out

• The default privacy settings for LinkedIn tend to favor privacy, or at least discretion in how you share information. Many settings that allow you to share aspects of your profile are "opt in," that is, you must actively select the function or give overt consent for disclosure. Facebook, on the other hand, has gravitated to a default policy of encouraging and sometimes forcing its members to share information. Privacy changes such as "instant personalization" and "facial recognition" are instituted system wide, and members must specifically opt out of allowing a particular type of sharing.
  
  

Search Engines

• LinkedIn allows members to create public profiles that are accessible by search engines such as Google or Bing. The control over the elements you share is granular -- there are options for nearly every aspect of your profile. You must activate the public profile before search engines will find it; you can also change the settings at any time, to make your profile more or less searchable.
  
  Facebook makes member profiles searchable by default. You may remove your profile from public search and limit the accessibility of your profile within Facebook, even blocking your profile from certain users. However, unlike LinkedIn you cannot edit your name or omit your photo from your profile, whether you allow public searches of your profile or not.
  
  

Photos

• LinkedIn encourages its members to post a photo of their faces with their profiles. Profiles with all other elements completed but no profile are assigned a 95 percent completeness rating. Linked in does not allow members to post personal photo albums, and does not allow members to post anything other than a facial shot with their profiles. LinkedIn does allow members to control who sees their photos, and many members limit their photo visibility to their immediate networks.
  
  Facebook also encourages members to post profile photos. However, if you post your photo on Facebook, potentially anyone on Facebook, or even the entire Internet can see it, along with your name, location and main network. You do not have the option to limit who sees your profile photo. As a result, many members opt not to post photos, others post avatars, landscapes, logos and other graphic illustrations.
  
  

Third-Party Apps

• LinkedIn and Facebook have a selection of third-party apps available for members to use. However, many Facebook apps require members to allow access to large portions of their profiles, including their friends lists; otherwise they won't function. LinkedIn apps do not require such permissions or access to your network to function.