Facebook testing photo auto-upload feature for Android

Facebook is planning a new feature that will automatically upload any images you've taken on your Android phone's camera. But don't panic if you've been taking any, er, compromising shots -- you get to pick which ones to make public on your timeline.

Your photos would not go public automatically. Instead, they would be stored in a private 'Synced from Phone' folder until you've decided which ones you want to feature on your profile -- saving you from the crushing embarrassment of sharing that private pic that's just for you (yes, you know the one), with the world. 

Zuckerberg's social network is currently testing the feature with a sample group of Android users. To check if it's available to you, head over to your timeline on the Facebook for Android app, go to Photos and see if the auto-sync button appears.

This automated feature is sure to make it easier to share your smart phone snaps with your friends and family -- and old classmates, work colleagues, that bloke you only met once but somehow made it onto your friends list, and so forth.

Facebook joins Apple and Google, which are already touting photo-sharing features. Google+ offers a similar networking tool for photo uploads. And Apple's new Photo Stream feature in its iOS 6 and Mountain Lion operating systems makes all of your photos available across each of your Apple devices.

Of course, since Facebook's photo sharing feature is only at the testing stage, there's no hint yet as to if/when it will be made public for everyone -- or when we might see a version for iOS or Windows Phone. But it's certainly exciting if you're big into mobile snapping and want to take the hassle out of backing up -- especially in light of incoming Android-based digital cameras such as the Samsung Galaxy Camera.

Is this a feature you want to see on your smart phone? Or would you be even more concerned about the privacy implications for your Facebook? Let me know in the comments or head over to our -- yes -- Facebook wall.