Yammer and privacy

[Marcel Corbeek]

I am looking for a confirmation on something I do suspect: the recent activity that a user sees after logging in on Yammer, does this only show the activity for the groups he / she is a member of?

Our security and privacy girls and guys are worried that suddenly everybody will see messages like: "User CEO uploaded a document called reorganization.docx." while the CEO is supposed to be a member of a closed group.

[#2]

The recent activity is security trimmed.  In addition to showing activity for groups you belong to, it would also show recent activity for people you follow as long as their post was made in a public group, or a private group you are a member of.   I wouldn't for instance see activity for someone I follow if their activity was in a private group I'm not a part of.

[#3]

Erin, thanks for your answer!

[#4]

Erin,

some of our users indicate that they do see activities from groups they are not a member of and from people they are not following. Are activities from public groups added?

[#5]

I don't see myself public activity for people, groups or docs I'm not following.  I know for certain the recent activity is security trimmed for private groups.

[#6]

When I log in to Yammer there are three tabs: Discovery, All, and Following. Both Discovery and All display content from people and groups I am not connected to. Content is still subject to access levels (like a closed group) so don't worry about private data being leaked.

[#7]

Erin, Dan,
thanks for your answers.

I am discussing this with our privacy officer who has to check that Yammer 'obeys' the privacy laws we have over here. I think they will have to do some rethinking as Yammer (and Office 365) are build on the principle that all information is available unless it is closed off. They are used to the model where all data is hidden unless it is opened up.