According to a recent survey by the American Customer Satisfaction Index, social network giant Facebook recorded worse customer satisfaction than Google+. Facebook has around 800 million users, much more than Google+, but a lack of privacy and controversial additions such as Timeline created controversy and could have had a long-term impact.

Out of a 100 percent satisfaction index, Facebook fell to 61 from 69 percent while Google+ debuted at 78 percent. Google's social networking service is above average for the social media industry. It averaged 69 percent, ahead of subscription-based TV and newspapers.

According to the survey, Google+ has a higher rating than Facebook because of the focus on privacy and a better mobile experience. Facebook's mobile app has a two-star rating on the iOS App Store and has been criticized for being slow; however, it is reportedly getting an update during July 2012. Google+ apps for Samsung Galaxy Nexus and Nexus 7 devices are customized for each screen size, with the Nexus 7 app resembling a magazine.

"Facebook and Google+ are competing on two critical fronts: customer experience and market penetration. Google+ handily wins the former, and Facebook handily wins the latter, for now. It's worth asking how much customer satisfaction matters for Facebook, given its unrivalled 800 million user base," said Larry Freed, president and CEO of ForeSee, the company working on the survey.

Facebook defended itself and averred that "We care deeply about the experience people have on Facebook and that's why we're so focused on building and improving the products we offer. Giving people that means to interact with the people when they want, where they want and how they want is the most meaningful way for us to make our relationship with people even stronger".

Facebook received the lowest rating with fellow social networking websites LinkedIn, Pintrest, and Twitter all scoring 69 percent.

Arguably, like Facebook, Google+ doesn't use "traditional advertising" because the service is less popular. Google+ launched earlier in 2012, after being in beta, and despite advertisements of the service has been slow to grab users.

Facebook is fast losing users from the U.S. even though almost a billion are currently registered on the social networking site. Perhaps, one controversial feature too many or the increasing invasion of privacy in the eyes of some users isn't acceptable.