Facebook Improving Control, Simplicity and Connection
Facebook is a sharing and social networking platform that is constantly in development. Recent and upcoming changes are focused on reflecting three basic principles in which Facebook grounds effective privacy for it’s users. Control over who we share information with and Simplicity in use allows us to effectively create the Connections we desire.
Control reflects Facebook’s desire to give users the ability to share specific information with targeted audiences. Earlier this year Facebook added the “Everyone” option which allows users to share parts of their profile with all Facebook users. On the flip side Facebook wants to give us the ability to limit certain details about ourselves down to select groups of users such as family, co-workers, or a circle of friends. This option will compliment the “Create a New List” function on our Friends page. Right now the list function is strictly a news feed and friend filter but soon it will also serve as an access control for each individual update.
Increasing control functions can sometimes complicate things. Facebook noticed over time that privacy settings corresponding with the addition of new features created undue complexity and confusion. Focusing on Simplicity, new developments have consolidated those settings to a single page along with the standardization of control options. Also, overlapping settings have been removed and profile fields considered to be similar have been combined.
To make sure that users are making desired Connections with these new changes, Facebook will be asking us to reaffirm some of our settings over the next few days. This new Transition Tool will enable us to select which parts of our profile we feel comfortable sharing, giving us the choice to be as open or reclusive as we would like.
Previous privacy settings will carry over as these changes take effect and no new information will be shared with outside sources, such as advertisers.
Source: Facebook Blog
