It seems like Facebook privacy setting has gone from something we talk about once in a while, to something we’re trying to keep up with on a monthly basis as new changes are rolled out more frequently. And now–surprise–there’s a new one.

Last year, Facebook grandfathered in users of a privacy feature that allowed you to be hidden from search if you activated “Who can look up Timeline by name.” But if you were one of them, don’t expect to see it as an option any longer. Because it’s gone, as of yesterday, according to this Facebook announcement.

If your’e in this group, you can at least expect an alert message from Facebook about it, as a courtesy.

I personally find it kind of hilarious that one of the justifications offered by Facebook is that “people told us that they found it confusing when they tried looking for someone who they knew personally and couldn’t find them in search results.”

(Oh no! I’m so confused that every person’s personal information isn’t immediately available to me!)

And it says a lot about where Internet privacy is heading, if searchers are entitled to more information about individuals than those individuals want to share.

This is all the more reason to take a look at our 5 tips for managing your Facebook privacy settings and making sure that your timeline, photos, and other information is as available or as locked down as you want it to be. With any luck our tips will stay current–at least for another few seconds. -Liz

[h/t gigaom]