14 DAY TRIAL // Facebook has announced further changes to the user privacy options, which are now geared towards more openness by making it easier for users to decide what they want to share with the world. The new trend for the social network comes in stark contrast with the past several years when Facebook was known for its very restricting privacy settings.
To go along with the new Publisher, which now has the default option to share the content you post with “Everyone,” Facebook is releasing a revamped privacy control page that should make it clearer to users what their options are and what they mean. And to help them get accustomed to the new interface, the social network will also be rolling out six “Transition Tools” customized for their current privacy settings.
“The test we're launching today will include a small fraction of the total number of people on Facebook. This group will receive the new, simpler settings and one of six different versions of the Transition Tool. Over the next few weeks, we'll be collecting direct feedback from the testing group and using it to make improvements to the tool. Our goal is to ensure that people understand the changes to our privacy settings and make choices that reflect their comfort level,” Chris Kelly, Facebook's chief privacy officer, wrote on the company's blog.
Letting users have more control and a better understanding of their options as well as a clearer view of the risks they are exposing themselves to is a very good idea, considering that most social network users are unaware of what exactly they are sharing and with who. A recent study shows that 59 percent of users aren't sure who can see their content and personal information, while 32 percent of them publicly revealed at least three pieces of personal identifiable information.
However Facebook's current desire to become a lot more open to allow it to better compete with Twitter as the main real-time information source could prove potentially dangerous, as the company is encouraging users who are clearly not very well informed already to share even more with the world.