Google's Buzz areas of concern.

Google Buzz continues to make waves as the Gmail- and mobile device-based social networking platform reaches the masses this week.

Buzz takes one part Facebook, one part Twitter, one part YouTube and one part Flickr and blends it for a social networking platform lodged directly into Gmail. So far, Google Buzz has been receiving mixed praise. As with any new platform where people share information, however, privacy is a huge question. People post personal information, photos and other content to share with friends, not with the world. It's up to Google Buzz to keep that information to its intended recipients.

Early on, Google Buzz has come under scrutiny for lacking some fundamental privacy and security. Here are three areas Google Buzz needs to tighten up before users will be confident enough to make it their single social networking service:

1. Google Buzz automatically imports contacts and shows them as friends. One of Google Buzz's biggest selling points is its auto-follow feature, which automatically makes Buzz users friends with the people they communicate with most through Gmail -- if those people are also using Buzz, of course.  Essentially, Buzz starts following those people and makes that list public, meaning strangers get a look at who Buzz users are in contact with.  "Imagine ... a wife discovering that her husband e-mails and chats with an old girlfriend," "Imagine a boss discovers a subordinate e-mails with executives at a competitor." In Google's defense, Buzz users can turn that feature off, though it is set as a default. Also, it only shares that information with other Buzz users who have set up profiles.

2. Google Buzz grabs photos without a user uploading them. It "appears to grab photos off the Android phone that have never uploaded. Let that be a warning to Buzz users that photos stored on their Android devices may very well be broadcast to friends and contacts, whether they like it or not.

3. Google Buzz can pinpoint and broadcast your exact location. Yes, Google Buzz is designed to keep friends and contacts connected and let them share content. But do users really want all of those contacts to know exactly where they are at all times, right down to the street number? With Buzz for mobile devices, it can do just that. When users visit the mobile app via Android, they are asked whether they want to share their location or not. That location can also be saved and remembered as a preference if users want.