Real ID and Battle.net get expanded privacy settings
by Mathew McCurley 
Sep 30th 2010 at 2:00PM
To change your Battle.net privacy options, log in to your account's Battle.net management page and select Settings, then Communication Preferences.
Now all we need is an "go invisible" feature on Real ID, like most instant message clients have, and I'll be a happy Real ID user.
The full announcement by Nethaera is below:
Nethaera -- New Battle.net Privacy SettingsWe'd like to make you aware of the new Real ID-related privacy options we've introduced to Battle.net. These options provide Real ID users with additional tools for customizing the service based on their preferences, enabling the ability to opt in or out of the Real ID "Friends of Friends" and "Add Facebook Friends" features or to turn off Real ID altogether.
Real ID offers an optional, convenient way for keeping in touch with real-world friends you know and trust, whether they're playing World of Warcraft, StarCraft II, or one of our future games. The "Friends of Friends" and "Add Facebook Friends" features provide you with even more options to stay connected while you play by making it easier for real-life friends to locate each other on Battle.net. You can easily enable or disable these features through your Battle.net privacy settings by logging in to your Battle.net account at http://www.battle.net/.
Real ID offers an optional, convenient way for keeping in touch with real-world friends you know and trust, whether they're playing World of Warcraft, StarCraft II, or one of our future games. The "Friends of Friends" and "Add Facebook Friends" features provide you with even more options to stay connected while you play by making it easier for real-life friends to locate each other on Battle.net. You can easily enable or disable these features through your Battle.net privacy settings by logging in to your Battle.net account at http://www.battle.net/.
Filed under: News items, Account Security
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
Jamie Sep 30th 2010 2:02PM
What little friends I do have on facebook will now flee in fear, thanks Blizzard!
/target Facebook friends
/cast Fear Ward
BritishBulldog Sep 30th 2010 2:08PM
/target Facebook friends
/cast I DON'T WANT YOU TO KNOW ABOUT MY SECRET 3 HOUR/DAY HABIT
Grumpy Wow Guy Sep 30th 2010 2:19PM
@ Bulldog
Only 3 hours? C'mon... You know that it's more than that!
BritishBulldog Sep 30th 2010 2:30PM
/tar Grumpy Wow Guy
/cast sadface
I don't want to admit it :(
Grumpy Wow Guy Sep 30th 2010 4:51PM
@ Bulldog
It's ok man. It could always be worse; you could be a crackhead instead!
Eirik Sep 30th 2010 6:07PM
The first step to getting better is to admit you have a problem.
pancakes Sep 30th 2010 6:43PM
I think crack is probably a cheaper addiction than WoW.
Hollow Leviathan Sep 30th 2010 9:04PM
If you can maintain a crack addiction for less than 15 bucks a month, you are simply a hypochondriac with a bulk rate on flour.
Tirrimas Sep 30th 2010 2:03PM
I WANT MY INVIS, NAO.
Seriously. I don't want to offend my friends (and they ARE friends) by removing them from RealID, but there are times when I just want to hide.
Please, Blizz. Give us some RealCamo.
Dreyja Sep 30th 2010 2:41PM
This continues to be the sticking point for a lot of people but Blizz. doesn't appear to be doing much about it. We shall see. I have no idea how difficult it is to build something like that into the code.
Aaron Sep 30th 2010 2:42PM
I feel the exact same way. I used to have alts I played just to do my own thing for a bit which was something as innocent as farming or some dailies for gold or w/e. I no longer have an escape and all my friends are kinda blown away by how many 80s I have. They only knew about 2 before Real ID. :(
danawhitaker Sep 30th 2010 2:51PM
Unless they make your character physically invisible, it's a pretty moot point, as people would still be able to see you through the traditional friends list (assuming they're on the same server as you) and find your general physical zone or city location in game. The best compromise is the option to set yourself as busy, which already exists. If someone still pesters you when you're marked busy, they'll probably find some way to track you down when you have your RealID set to invisible anyway.
danawhitaker Sep 30th 2010 2:53PM
I would, however, be in favor of an option to have certain characters opt-out of showing up. I have bank alts and characters on other servers that I use for stuff that I don't necessarily want people knowing about or messaging me on.
Angus Sep 30th 2010 4:04PM
@Dana. Most of the time when you want to be invisible, you log into an unknown alt. I have a DK on a different server. All the DK is for is blowing off steam or pursing around. At least one RealID friend now knows about this toon and began to message me. I got on the toon to be left alone and kill stuff. I've been asked to log in during Starcraft matches...
In these cases an invisible function is a necessity. I don't want to be a GM 100% of the time, like during a Starcraft match. I have officers, they can damn well take care of it but instead of going through them people try and gt me to fix things while I am getting my face chewed off by a Zerg rush from some 12 yr old with reflexes that make The Flash blush.
When Diablo3 hits, it will only get worse.
Sir Broose Sep 30th 2010 6:37PM
Dana, you're assuming my friends already know about all my alts. I have 4 toons that most people who know me would recognize. I have 5 others on my main server that almost no one knows about, and a few on other servers that no one knows about. I have not opted into Real ID because I don't want to divulge their identities to everyone. Sometimes, I really like my privacy.
However, I would really like to use Real ID some - or probably most of the time, but I won't unless and until they include an invisibility function.
Angus Sep 30th 2010 8:03PM
Oh yea, I also got a "Wait, YOU are the owner of that A-hole?!?!?!" in reference to my bank/AH alt once. It appears that my indiscriminate domination of the AH at one point on certain items stepped on toes I was unaware of. (Auctioneer allowed me not to really care who was being undercut, and well, they kept seeing that alt undercutting them.
Last thing I want is more people knowing when I am on that alt (who has her own guild+bank) and doing my evil deeds.
uncaringbear Sep 30th 2010 8:21PM
Here's how the Invisible option should work:
- makes you not appear on RealID or Friends list
- when invisible, you cannot see who is online in your RealID or Friends list
The Invisible option should be available for all users, RealID or not. If one of your friends happens to bump into you at the Dalaran bank while you're invisible, tough luck!
scherbaddie Sep 30th 2010 9:06PM
I believe it was stated at one point that they want to discourage anonymity and unaccountability with respect to AH alts.
Noyou Sep 30th 2010 2:09PM
Thanks but no thanks :)
Slick Sep 30th 2010 2:05PM
Still can't replace my real name with the name I actually go by IRL yet? Guess I still won't be using RealID.