Facebook introduces a slew of privacy options

Facebook, the world’s largest social networking site with 750 million users, has introduced a slew of changes aimed at giving users more control over what they share, what other people share about them, and where all this information would appear. The changes are set to be rolled out over the next few weeks.

Facebook’s Chris Cox, detailing the features on the company’s official blog, writes, “The main change is moving most of your controls from a settings page to being inline, right next to the posts, photos and tags they affect.” Even as Facebook executives unveiled these features early this morning during a live webcast, users like Dushyant Verghese were quick to express their opinion on the official Facebook blog. “I am glad a photo tag approval system has been included. Now, I can un-tag myself from those group photos that my friends keep putting up as part of a calendar app or a friendship day cartoon,” Verghese wrote.

The 33 million Indians who throng Facebook would be part of the worldwide community that would be able to add location information to any of their posts (or updates), even after they make it, instead of having to ‘check in’, using a mobile device. Earlier, Facebook users could only ‘check in’ to locations (socially share the places they visit) using the Places feature on a smartphone. However, Cox says, “Lots of people use Facebook to talk about where they are, have been, or want to go. Now, you can add your location from anywhere, regardless of what device you are using, or whether it is a status update, a photo or a wall post. Of course, you can always choose not to add a location at all.”
 

WHAT’S NEW ON FACEBOOK

Profile tag review: Earlier, when someone tagged you in a photo or a post, that tag would just show up. Now, you can choose to approve or reject when other people tag you, before anyone else sees you tagged in it

Content tag review: When someone tags content of yours (like a photo you clicked), you can choose to approve or reject that tag, even if they aren’t tagging you specifically

View profile as: The ‘View Profile As’ button is now available on your profile page. So, you can see what your profile looks like from other people’s accounts and make sure your privacy is set correctly

Inline sharing controls: The inline sharing controls have been edited. Now, you can change the setting dictating who’s allowed to see any post from the status box, and change it later on 

Tag anyone: Now, you can tag anyone in a post; not just your ‘friends’

Games and app activity: This setting is now controlled by the ‘Apps you use’ setting in the ‘Apps and Websites’ section of settings. Now, every app you use has its own privacy control that allows you to select the audience for the things you share from that app, including games and app activity

The privacy changes are being seen as a direct response to social networking rival Google+, which, while still in its testing stage, appears to have got the balance right. Google+ user Amith K, a Bangalore university student, says, “Earlier, in order to change your privacy settings, you had to go through the actual settings tab. Now, like Google+’s ‘circles’ feature, Facebook users can control each individual piece of content with a drop-down menu.” From the moment users join Google+, they can categorise friends and contacts into different groups called circles. And, when data is shared on Google+, the user is allowed to decide who he would share the information with—whether his family, friends, colleagues or everyone on the site.

Google+ has seen its user base flattening out at about 10 million users after a meteoric start in June. As users struggle to figure it, Facebook is using this opportunity to reinvigorate its own user base and cement its market lead, say social media analysts. Facebook, which has scooped up 13 companies this year, has targeted properties that dress up its site’s design and enhance mobile features, as it competes with Google and Twitter.

On the new privacy features being a mirror image of Google+’s ones, Shomir Dutt, user operations analyst at Facebook, says, “I’m guessing these changes would have been in the pipeline for a long time. They’re not something you can come up with in a month. No doubt, Google+ has had them from the beginning. Facebook just took some time.”