BuddyPress versus WP Symposium
If privacy is the Achilles' heel of BuddyPress, then this is where WP Symposium (WPS) shines. WPS is an alternative to BP in that it provides the same capabilities out of the box and then some. WPS also includes integrated forums, chat, galleries, events, and mobile access. BP, on the other hand, is also capable of the same extended features, but different developers produce all those plugins.
The issue with privacy
Privacy can make or break your site, literally. BP underwent several attempts at privacy solutions, but one popular plugin in particular, BP Privacy Component, would break occasionally with BP's release cycle. Again, the WordPress repository houses several plugins that can provide possible solutions, but none of them are core to BuddyPress. If you build a site that requires members' profiles to have privacy options and you rely on a plugin that is not core to BuddyPress, it leaves your site vulnerable to the possibility that you may lose that functionality...
