On Thursday, Facebook released a new tool to help you understand and control your privacy settings on the site.
First announced back
in April, the Privacy Checkup tool lets you see and adjust who can view
your data, as well as which apps can access it. It is navigated,
curiously, with the help of a nameless blue dinosaur –– let’s call him
Clippyosaurus –– who pops up now and then and reminds you to review your
privacy settings to “make sure they’re set up the way you want.”
Per the company’s blog post:
“Today, we’re starting to roll out Privacy Checkup, which helps you review and control who you’re sharing with.
“We know you come to Facebook to
connect with friends, not with us. But we also know how important it is
to be in control of what you share and who you share with.”
The release is likely a move for Facebook to improve its public image, which has been marred by several privacy scandals in the past several years.
The Privacy Checkup tool
attempts to both simplify the process of changing your sharing settings
and demystify whom you’re sharing with.
The tool isn’t a cure-all. While
it might help you better understand what you’re sharing and with whom,
for example, it doesn’t change the fact that Facebook farms out your
detailed personal data to advertisers for profit by default. (Click here to find out how to turn off that lovely feature.)
Anyway, below is a quick run-through of how the tool works:
When you access your privacy
settings via the lock symbol in the upper-right corner of Facebook’s
navigation bar, your (Mac-using?) dinosaur friend will appear and be
like, “Hey, privacy, blah blah blah.”
After you click Privacy Checkup, a box will pop up on your screen. Via this tool, you can monitor Your Posts, Your Apps, and Your Profile.
The first page is a basic run-through of who can see the updates you write on your page.
The second is a survey of which
apps are connected to your Facebook. I’ll admit it’s nice to have quick
access to this, as I often try out an app once or twice and then forget
about it. With this tool, I can remove its access to my data with one
click. You can also adjust who sees your activity on the app.
Finally, you’re shown all the basic personal info on your profile and given the choice to adjust what it says and who sees it.
That’s all it does! At the very
least, this simplifies the convoluted process of adjusting your privacy
that’s caused so many problems in the past.
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