Amid ongoing Cambridge Analytica scandal, Facebook recently announced a number of changes to its privacy settings. These changes have been made user-centric that are easy to access and provide complete control to users on what they share, download, and even the data that they want to delete. Facebook has recently been questioned over its data and privacy policy for users. There has been a demand to show more transparency in its data privacy and protection policies, which the company tried to show through the recent changes. Before this, the last changes were made in January from Facebook, when they published the privacy principles and launched the Privacy Centers, also known as a one stop shop for privacy control.
“The last week showed how much more work we need to do to enforce our policies, and to help people understand how Facebook works and the choices they have over their data,” Erin Egan, Vice President and Chief Privacy Officer for policy, and Ashlie Beringer, Vice President and Dy. General Counsel, wrote in a blog post. “We’ve heard loud and clear that privacy settings and other important tools are hard to find, and that we must do more to keep people informed.”
If you look at the statistics, you’d find it horrifying to know that almost 50 million users’ data has been compromised and reached to Cambridge Analytica. It is also being said that the leaked information fed the victory of current US president Donald Trump. Although, Facebook also paid a heavy price in terms of its share, which have gone down by almost 18%, losing tens’ of billion in market capital. Facebook also lost approximately double of what it had earned in the past years. Moreover, the lawmakers and regulatories have started to take action against Facebook and many lawsuits have been filed till now. On the other hand, the #DeleteFacebook campaign has taken hold over Internet.
What is the change?
A top to bottom rebuild has been done on the entire Settings menu on its mobile application. Instead of providing settings at different levels and screens, now you can access the entire Settings menu at one place. Facebook took all the grievances and feedbacks into consideration that included privacy, security and ads must be easier to find. The company has developed a new privacy shortcut menu that provides users with more control and ownership at their own data. The changes are also made to render an easy to find and clearer instructions on the Facebook’s control.
Overall, the changes applied by Facebook in its app and website do let users have a control over their personal information. However, the shared information must be limited to avoid any unwanted situation. If you know some more amendments by Facebook, do let us know in the comments below.
