Facebook has announced major changes to privacy on Tuesday. This is one of the largest revisions of privacy in company history, which includes more than a dozen changes to the profiles, status updates, locations and codes.
In fact, there are so many changes it is easy to get confused about what the changes Facebook made and what impact they have on your privacy. The updates are significant enough that Facebook will make each of its 750 + million users through a tutorial on the privacy settings updated.
That's why we wrote this short guide to all the changes Facebook has implemented. See this page for a quick rundown of all the new privacy features now available in the largest social networks in the world.
The major privacy changes to Facebook Profiles include:
Greater profile control: Profile visibility controls now appear directly next to content when you edit your profile. For example, if you only want your close friends to see which music you like, you can change it directly from the profile editing page.
In-line cues: Facebook will display a globe, friend or gear icon to indicate whether a piece of content is public, only seen by friends or customized for a friend group or list.
“View Profile As”: The “View Profile As” feature has been moved from the Privacy Settings Page to the top right-hand corner of the user profile. This is designed to make it more accessible.
Overhaul of the Privacy Page: The privacy overhaul will result in a much cleaner and simpler Privacy Page, since most of the privacy settings are now integrated at the profile page level.
Tags
The major privacy changes to Facebook Tags include:
Tag reviews: Facebook has implemented a system where users can approve or reject photo, status or location tags before they appear on their profiles. This profile can be turned on or off, depending on user preference.
Photo tagging changes: Because of the tag reviews feature, Facebook felt comfortable allowing a user to tag anybody in a photo, regardless of whether they are friends. This makes it simpler to tag people in group shots. Users must approve these tags before they appear on a user’s profile.
Tags in the Publisher Box: It’s easier to see who is being tagged in a status update. The left-hand side of the Publisher Box now includes an area for managing tags.
New untagging features: If a user untags herself from a photo, she will be given the option to send a request to the photo’s uploader to remove it. She will also have the option of blocking that person entirely.
Status Updates & Location
The major privacy changes to location-sharing and status updates include:
Public updates: The “Everyone” option in status updates has been renamed “Public” for greater clarity.
No more lock icon: The lock icon under the Publisher Box has also been changed. It will now display the globe, friend or gear icon based on whether the update is public, for friends or custom.
Facebook Places integration: Facebook Places has been integrated into the Publisher Box. Users can now tag a location into any status update. The same applies to photos and photo albums.
No more GPS restriction: Users can now tag any location in a status update or photo, regardless of whether they’re actually nearby. This makes it possible tag a location for a photo album after the user has returned home.
Mobile changes: The Facebook Places icon will no longer appear in the mobile apps. Instead a “Nearby” icon will take its place. It will display which users have tagged their location nearby.
Reactions
We asked some privacy and safety groups to respond to Facebook’s privacy changes. Here are two of those responses:
1. Electronic Frontier Foundation:
Social networking services should ensure that users have the privacy and control over personal information stored on the service. To do this, users need to clean user interface that allows them to make informed decisions about who sees their data and how it is used. We look forward to seeing how the work is controlled in operation to see if users understand and reduce the amount of involuntary participation in Facebook.
One disappointment is that Facebook is considering the elimination of the parameters that could prevent users avoid their friends to see the facilities. As we understand, there is no deadline for the control, but will be available for at least 60 days, and those who choose the option will be acquired to maintain it. Even if a user does not want or need to control now, we recommend that you select the option now to ensure that this control is available.
We asked Facebook for granular control over the privacy setting for a while now and are delighted that Facebook is now providing an online monitoring. We also appreciate the introduction of greater control over the marking.
It is also good to see more competition for control of privacy between social networks. The introduction of Google gave users control circles over online sharing, and Facebook is now online offering more granular control. We hope that this trend will continue in the competition.
2. Connect Safety:
This is an important step in the privacy of Facebook users of all ages - to us all members of the Security Advisory Council really. Allows users to reflect on the level of risk they want with each update of the status or the photo submitted invites everyone to be a little more aware of our social media use, and is a good thing that we find all social norms of social media.
source: Mashable
