Facebook Rolls Out Changes to Privacy Settings

Another day, another change to the Facebook platform. This time, the social networking behemouth has rolled out changes to privacy settings in an effort to make them simpler for users. This comes as a response to major backlash in recent weeks about the corporation’s lack of privacy concerns. So do the new changes really make things easier?

Facebook Updates Privacy Settings

Well, here’s what Facebook laid out in an email from yesterday to all advertisers, letting us know about the changes.

“Starting today, Facebook will:

• Provide an easy-to-use “master” control that enables users to set who can see the content they share through Facebook.  This enables users to choose, with just one click, the overall privacy level they’re comfortable with for the content they share on Facebook. Of course, users can still use all of the granular controls we’ve always offered, if they wish.
• Significantly reduce the amount of information that must be visible to everyone on Facebook. Facebook will no longer require that users’ friends and connections are visible to everyone. Only Name, Profile Picture, Networks and Gender must be publicly available. Users can opt to make all other connections private.
• Make it simple to control whether other applications and websites access any user information. While a majority of our users love Facebook apps and Facebook-enhanced websites, some may prefer not to share their information outside of Facebook. Users can now opt out with just one click.
”

It looks like these changes haven’t rolled out across all profiles just yet, as they aren’t live in my account.

However, according to Mashable, the changes will be as simple as one click:

“Users simply click one button (“Everyone,” “Friends of Friends” or “Friends Only”) in the left column to restrict or open all their information to those groups. They can also choose to make certain types of information open to certain groups, as per the recommended settings you see above,” Mashable reports.

Additionally, “The recommended settings ask users to make their status, photos, posts, bio, favorite quotations, family and relationships viewable to everyone. They also recommend making personal contact information viewable by friends only.”

Personally, almost all aspects of my settings are set to “Friends only”, and I’ve had them this way for quite some time. My Facebook profile is something I want only my true friends, colleagues and acquaintances to see – no strangers allowed. However – as a general rule when it comes to social networking, even when privacy settings are in place and you think no one can see your information – never write anything that you wouldn’t want the world to see. In other words, be careful. You never know what could happen, and social networks are not really private forums, so it’s best to err on the side of caution. (Remember that recent Facebook glitch that caused users’ private chats to be viewable to all friends? Case in point.)

We’d love to hear your thoughts on these new settings. Will they be effective and quash privacy concerns about Facebook? Are they easy to use?

Similar Posts

• Why Businesses Should Get Excited About Facebook Places
• Facebook Takes On Social Travel Site
• 40 Terrific Facebook Pages
• Say Hello to “The Social Network”
• Search: It’s Not Just About Google Anymore

Comments

About Author