Facebook is making an attempt at simplifying its privacy rules with a new Privacy Basics section. That tries to break down what have in the past been convoluted privacy policies into simple statements with bold graphics.
The home page of this section is broken down into basic section. Click on What Others See about you…
and you’ll find frequently asked questions broken down into basic sections.
Choose the question and you’ll get an interactive tutorial explaining how to do things like adjust your privacy settings on a post.
There are also sections addressing how to change the kinds of ads that appear in your news feed. And instructions on how to find out why a particular ad is appearing in your news feed. You just click the drop-down arrow at the top of the add and choose Why am I seeing this? You can also hide all ads from that advertiser or take a survey about your news feed.
In my case, the ad is because I like pages FB feels are similar to pages I like and posts I’ve clicked on.
Facebook has cut the length of the privacy terms by 70%, which should make them somewhat easier to read and understand just what they do with your data.
The new terms also show that the company is moving towards conducting more e-commerce on the site and that mobile payments are on the horizon.
Earlier this year, many people who were outraged by the app permissions of the Facebook Messenger app were surprised to find they had already agreed to the same permissions for their Facebook app. So, it’s important to read the privacy policy when you sign up for any account.
Hopefully, these shorter, simpler terms will encourage more users to do exactly that.
~ Cynthia
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