As social networking site Facebook his 350million registered users, the site has announced an update to its privacy that will give users greater control over who can and can’t see their content and personal details.
Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg wrote an open letter to each and every one of Facebook’s users today, highlighting key changes to the Facebook features and privacy policy that he believes will offer users greater levels of control over their privacy online.
Social networking sites have been criticised by some privacy experts in the past, claiming that minimal privacy policies and their open nature make it too easy for users to unwittingly divulge sensitive information about themselves, which could prove lucrative to online criminals.
Facebook have responded to those criticisms, with Zuckerburg claiming that the changes will give users greater controls over how visible their content is.
“We’re adding something that many of you have asked for – the ability to control who sees each individual piece of content you create or upload,” Facebook chief exec Mark Zuckerberg explained in the letter. “In addition, we’ll also be fulfilling a request made by many of you to make the privacy settings page simpler by combining some settings.
“We’ve worked hard to build controls that we think will be better for you, but we also understand that everyone’s needs are different. We’ll suggest settings for you based on your current level of privacy, but the best way for you to find the right settings is to read through all your options and customize them for yourself. I encourage you to do this and consider who you’re sharing with online.”
