Facebook has rolled out a new privacy setting that allows new users to control how they want to share content on the social network.
Facebook already has several privacy settings, but the social networking giant is adding further options after being criticized about how easy it was to manipulate the settings. The new privacy change on the platform will only be available to new users.
The latest privacy setting isn't entirely new but is just a tweak that was long overdue. When users sign in to the social networking site, the default privacy settings allow the general public to view all posts created by the user. Those who want to keep their posts more private need to go to the settings page and make the necessary changes.
New users no longer have to deal with this privacy discrepancy. All new users will have a default privacy setting that allows only "friends" to view their wall posts. This new privacy change can be particularly helpful for the less tech-savvy users who don't know how to go about making changes to their account settings.
"While some people want to post to everyone, others have told us that they are more comfortable sharing with a smaller group, like just their friends. We recognize that it is much worse for someone to accidentally share with everyone when they actually meant to share just with friends, compared with the reverse," Facebook wrote in an official blog post, last Thursday. "So, going forward, when new people join Facebook, the default audience of their first post will be set to Friends. Previously, for most people, it was set to Public."
As privacy has become the focus of all social networking sites, Facebook is working hard to ensure its users enjoy maximum privacy and full security of their data. Earlier, the company announced that it was working on a feature called "Anonymous Login." This new feature will eliminate the need for individuals to make fake profiles to post comments or log in to apps. This will protect a user's data from being misused.
Other recent changes to the site include a new Shazam-like music identification feature for Facebook for mobiles. The company also rolled out a new "Ask" button to people's profiles that keeps personal information a secret. The social giant has also addressed the needs of businesses by letting restaurant owners to update their Facebook Pages with menus so people can find all the information in one place.
