Facebook beefs up privacy settings, and increases user-control

The Cambridge Analytica saga is getting very watered-down, and we’re sure that, if you wanted to delete your Facebook profile, that it has already been done. In typical Zuckerberg fashion, Mark has apologised, and Facebook has made some changes to the accessibility of privacy settings to give users more control of what they share.

The social platform has reworked the privacy settings on the mobile app in an effort to put their users at ease by helping them share only the personal info they are comfortable with sharing. Or that’s the plan, at least.

Privacy Shortcuts menuApparently the info about privacy, security, and ads was pretty hard to find. Facebook is trying this new thing called “listening to their users”, and are changing the way they update the app accordingly.

The Privacy Shortcuts is a menu where you can take control of your data, while also offering useful and clear explanations of how the controls work. It is much easier to find now, because of the updated interface.

Take control

According to Facebook, “You can add more layers of protection to your account, like two-factor authentication. If you turn this on and someone tries to log into your account from a device we don’t recognise, you’ll be asked to confirm whether it was you”. This has been a feature for quite a while, but its now easier to find. If you haven’t already turned it on, you should. In fact, you should use two-factor authentication for any service (banking, email, social media) that will let you.

You can also manage posts you have made to Facebook by deleting or “hiding” them, as well as control the information used to show you ads. Just go to the “Ads” tab — it explains how ads work and the options you have. This is a very useful feature, especially when you consider that this the information that’s pure gold to advertisers. If you’ve been seeing too many ads for yoga pants, this is the place to check what Facebook thinks you’re interested in and hopefully quell the tide.

Facebook continues to explain that you own what you share on Facebook (really?), because of the feature where you can control who sees your posts and the information you choose to include on your profile.

They are also busy rewriting the Facebook Terms of Service to adapt to the current fears and confusion their users are feeling. Obviously Mr Zuckerberg is really trying to pick up the pieces right now to keep as many users active and sharing on his platform — but no one knows where this will lead.

Source: Facebook Newsroom