Facebook Update Makes It Easier To Access Privacy Settings

Facebook has announced that it is making it easier for users to access its privacy tools. The move is undoubtedly part of Facebook’s plans to ease the tension brought about by the Cambridge Analytica scandal.

“Last week showed how much more work we need to do to enforce our policies and help people understand how Facebook works and the choices they have over their data,” Facebook said in a blog post.

“We’ve heard loud and clear that privacy settings and other important tools are too hard to find and that we must do more to keep people informed. So in addition to Mark Zuckerberg’s announcements last week – cracking down on abuse of the Facebook 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.”

Facebook has completely redesigned its settings menu on smartphones and tablets. Instead of spreading different settings across 20 screens, most of the settings are now accessible from a single screen. Facebook said that it also removed outdated settings that can make it confusing to know which of the user’s information is being shared with third-party apps.

Facebook also added a new Privacy Shortcut menu, which lets users control their data just with a few taps. The company also made it easier to understand how these different controls work.

The Privacy Shortcut menu in Facebook will let users make their account more secure by allowing users to add extra layers of protection to their account like two-factor authentication. Users will also be able to review what personal information they’ve shared and they will also have the option to delete it.

The Privacy Shortcut menu also lets users control the ads they see. Users will be able to manage the information that Facebook uses to show them ads. This can be accessed by going to “Ad preferences.” Lastly, Privacy Shortcut will let users manage who will see their posts.

Facebook is also letting user find, download and delete any of their Facebook data. The new “Access Your Information” menu will let users access and manage their information, including posts, reaction, comments and even things that they’ve searched for. Users will be able to delete anything from their timeline or profile.

“We’re also making it easier to download the data you’ve shared with Facebook – it’s your data, after all. You can download a secure copy and even move it to another service. This includes photos you’ve uploaded, contacts you’ve added to your account, posts on your timeline, and more,” Facebook said.

Facebook noted that it will be proposing new updates to its terms of service and its data policy to make sure that users will easily understand what data it collects and how it uses it. “These updates are about transparency – not about gaining new rights to collect, use, or share data,” the company said.

The Cambridge Analytica scandal is still fresh and it seems as though Facebook is introducing these changes to regain the public’s trust, as pointed out by The Next Web.