Facebook readjusts privacy tools, introduces new updates

Facebook, the social networking site, said it is overhauling its privacy settings and other important tools to make it easier to find for users and control.

Erin Egan, VP and Chief Privacy Officer, Policy and Ashlie Beringer, VP and Deputy General Counsel at Facebook said in a blog post on Wednesday, March 28, 2018, that the new update is in addition to Mark Zuckerberg’s announcements last week to cracking down on abuse of the platform, strengthening our policies, and making it easier for people to revoke apps’ ability to use your data.

"We’re taking additional steps in the coming weeks to put people more in control of their privacy. Most of these updates have been in the works for some time, but the events of the past several days underscore their importance.

"It’s also our responsibility to tell you how we collect and use your data in a language that’s detailed, but also easy to understand. In the coming weeks, we’ll be proposing updates to Facebook’s terms of service that include our commitments to people. We’ll also update our data policy to better spell out what data we collect and how we use it. These updates are about transparency – not about gaining new rights to collect, use, or share data.

"We’ve worked with regulators, legislators and privacy experts on these tools and updates. We’ll have more to share in the coming weeks, including updates on the measures Mark shared last week."

Facebook listed the following as the new updates:

Controls that are easier to find and use: Redesigned settings menu on mobile devices from top to bottom to make things easier to find.

New Privacy Shortcuts menu: The new Privacy Shortcuts is a menu where you can control your data in just a few taps, with clearer explanations of how our controls work. The experience is now clearer, more visual, and easy-to-find.

Tools to find, download and delete your Facebook data: This gives users the ability to delete things they’ve shared in the past. It also features Access Your Information – a secure way for people to access and manage their information, such as posts, reactions, comments, and things you’ve searched for. You can go here to delete anything from your timeline or profile that you no longer want on Facebook.

Facebook is currently battling with various investigations owing to its privacy practices after a whistleblower revealed how Cambridge Analytica, data analysis and mining company, used user's data from Social media networking without their permission, inciting calls for people to #DeleteFacebook.