Facebook Inc. has once again made changes to its Privacy Policy settings. The social networking giant, in an attempt to make things easier for its users, will soon make its privacy policy ‘shorter, clearer and easier to read. The Chief Privacy Officer at Facebook, Erin Egan said in a blog post on Thursday. Along with that comes a move by the site for a broader payments systems and more targeted ads. Facebook launched a new section called Privacy Basics to club all new Privacy settings at one place.
Users can find answers to the most commonly asked questions about their privacy settings at Privacy Basics section. It includes information on untagging, blocking, unfriending and the people who can see their posts. This information will be available to users of the site in 36 languages worldwide.
Besides the new section on privacy Basics, the site has also proposed some updates to its data policy, cookies policy and terms of service. Users have a week to go through these changed policies and comment or make suggestions about the same to the site. The new proposals will become final on November 20.
Facebook is updating its policies to explain how it gets location information, depending on the features someone uses. “For example, in the future, if you decide to share where you are, you might see menus from restaurants nearby or updates from friends in the area,” Egan said.
The site is also experimenting with the way people can make purchases. Besides the Buy button which has already been tested in some regions to allow Facebook users to make purchases without having to leave the site, work is going on to make sure that such purchase are convenient and secure, said Egan.
Not only that, Facebook will also keep in mind the battery strength and signal strength of users’ devices “in order to make sure our apps work well.” Facebook will also ask permission to use phone location “to offer optional features like check-ins or adding your location to posts,” Egan said.
Facebook has also promised that it will make it easier for users to opt out of targeted ads while continuing to serve ads based on the sites and apps used by those who log in.
“When you tell us you don’t want to see these types of ads, your decision automatically applies to every device you use to access Facebook,” Egan said, adding that the ad preferences tool will be made available in additional countries, beginning with Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Ireland, and the U.K. Egan also reassured people who may worry about what the updates mean for what kind of data Facebook shares with advertisers. “Nothing is changing with these updates—we help advertisers reach people with relevant ads without telling them who you are,” she said.
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