Even though we have all has our personal (and public) quarrels with Facebook this year in regards to privacy, they have gone on to prove that they aren't all that bad. Just today (12/12/12), the social network rolled out a new set of privacy and security features that should make it easier for users to manage their content.
As we have all grown increasingly worried into how much people get tap into our information, especially with this week's arrests of ten individuals who were running money stealing malware, we may have new reasons to feel a bit more confident.
The basics surrounding the privacy updates are in response to the most-asked questions that users have regarding their content. While it looks like the new update is still rolling out (I don't have it yet as of this writing), you should soon see a new icon between the “Home” page and basic settings in the top bar menu. When clicked, you'll have an option of three different “Privacy Shortcuts” including “Who can see my stuff?”, “Who can contact me?” and “How do I stop someone from bothering me?”.
According to Wired, the new feature will begin coming out towards the end the year – which I guess December 12th isn't quite close enough to yet.
Regardless, the new update should help users ease up their management of content – who sees what and who can contact them – as compared to the larger amount of steps in the past. All in all, the update acts as a major shortcut.
As we have all grown increasingly worried into how much people get tap into our information, especially with this week's arrests of ten individuals who were running money stealing malware, we may have new reasons to feel a bit more confident.
The basics surrounding the privacy updates are in response to the most-asked questions that users have regarding their content. While it looks like the new update is still rolling out (I don't have it yet as of this writing), you should soon see a new icon between the “Home” page and basic settings in the top bar menu. When clicked, you'll have an option of three different “Privacy Shortcuts” including “Who can see my stuff?”, “Who can contact me?” and “How do I stop someone from bothering me?”.
According to Wired, the new feature will begin coming out towards the end the year – which I guess December 12th isn't quite close enough to yet.
Regardless, the new update should help users ease up their management of content – who sees what and who can contact them – as compared to the larger amount of steps in the past. All in all, the update acts as a major shortcut.
New Application Updates
On top of the improved privacy settings, the update comes with another new feature in regards to applications that you install. Remember in the past when you downloaded an app, and this absurd looking box would pop up with option after option into how the usage of the application gets shared with others?
Most of us just went along for the ride, only to end up sharing more content on our page that we really have wished for. I don't know about you, but I didn't really want people know what articles I read from what magazine at a precise time of day.
You won't have to worry about that anymore, since the app update makes it so that only two questions will now be asked. You'll first be asked if the app can access your public profile, then if you “would like to post to your friends on your behalf”.
Most of us just went along for the ride, only to end up sharing more content on our page that we really have wished for. I don't know about you, but I didn't really want people know what articles I read from what magazine at a precise time of day.
You won't have to worry about that anymore, since the app update makes it so that only two questions will now be asked. You'll first be asked if the app can access your public profile, then if you “would like to post to your friends on your behalf”.
A Note About Your Timeline
Another note worth mentioning comes courtesy of The Verge, and its something that I didn't even know until today. We've all had those posts we thought was a good idea to write and share for one minute, but then an hour later decided to delete. While you might have thought that it was wiped out from Facebook for good, it was actual still being seen on your friends' newsfeeds. Facebook will soon notify you of this the next time you delete something off of your timeline.
While we may not get as large of a say anymore when it comes to deciding on what Facebook does next, it looks like Facebook is slowly but surely catching on to the trends of 2012. Hopefully this will be a sign of more proactive movements on protecting our privacy in the future.
While we may not get as large of a say anymore when it comes to deciding on what Facebook does next, it looks like Facebook is slowly but surely catching on to the trends of 2012. Hopefully this will be a sign of more proactive movements on protecting our privacy in the future.
Author's Bio: Ezra Melino is a tech blogger who covers the latest in Google, Apple, social media and more. Leave your thoughts on the new Facebook privacy updates in the comment section below.
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