A series of changes that make it possible for its members to understand and define more easily who they are "visible," announced a few days ago Facebook.
Mark Zuckerberg said the changes were grounded, arguing that it is a priority of the social network to offer 1,3 to its users the best possible control over their privacy.
Of course, such statements are diametrically opposed to the strategy that Facebook has had almost since its creation, encouraging its members to "expose" their lives in common "view". As well as with what its founder proclaimed until a few years ago - for example stating, in an interview in 2010, that with the spread of the Internet, people have practically given up their privacy, as they share online and publicly more and more important and trivial things concerning them. However, it seems that Zuckerberg has now made a 180-degree turn and, instead of, for example, "the end of her era privacys", Facebook wants to protect personal data even better.
An indication of this shift is the way Facebook describes the new "Privacy Control" tool, perhaps the most important of the changes. "The new tool has been developed to help users be confident that they share information exclusively with the audience they want," said the official Facebook site, pointing out that the new feature will become available across the social network in a matter of weeks. From then on, by using it, all account holders on the platform will "check-in" their profiles at regular intervals, basically reviewing all of the confidentiality settings.
Thus, with the help of the tool, they can control who other users have access to and which of their data (including their email address or phone number), making any changes right away. They will also be able to see what information gives access to the applications they use. The "Privacy Control" will even have a mascot - a blue cartoon dinosaur, which will explain the step-by-step process to the user.
"Visible" publications
The same cartoon accompanies another new feature, which is intended for the existing members again and has appeared on the platform. This time, the goal is to alert users who for a long time have left their publications "publicly visible" to remind them how they can change their choice and thus limit the number of people who can "see" their posts .
A change for better privacy protection also awaits those who will register from now on on Facebook, since now the default setting for the posts of new users is that they are shared with their "friends" and not publicly, as was the case until now . According to the social network, the reason is that "we understand that it is much worse to accidentally share something with everyone that you only wanted to share with your friends, than the other way around." At the same time, Facebook will inform new members about the default setting before they make their first post, reminding them that they can change it at any time.
As a large number of users now have access to the social network through mobile devices, Facebook's smartphone and tablet's Facebook application could not be left out of the most effective audience control of the posts. In this case, the change concerns the design of the application, where the choice for the public of a post (eg "friends" or public) has been moved directly over the "window" of the text so that it is even easier remember to make the corresponding adjustment. Finally, Facebook is now able to hide the previous cover art, for which the only option so far has been public display.
Grounds for the change of cruise
Several analysts estimate that behind Facebook's decision to better control privacy is the pressure it receives from the Personal Data Protection Authorities in many countries around the world. On the other hand, the New York Times argues that, more than a maneuver, the change of course is due to the fact that network officials fear that if the management of personal data on the platform, then users will simply turn their backs on it. While the goal remains for members to update their profiles as often as possible, the paper adds, Facebook now believes that will only happen if they are confident that their information will reach the audience they trust.
After all, the social network hasn't stopped developing new features that deal with sensitive information – a recent example being the 'Ask' button, which will allow a user to ask their 'friends' if they're married, 'single' or in a relationship. However, the answer to on-line... flirting can be done with a private message, which means that it will be known only to the recipient of the message and, of course, to the social network.
Η πεποίθηση πως η ιδιωτικότητα αποτελεί σήμερα «εισιτήριο» για μεγαλύτερη δημοτικότητα ήταν το επιχείρημα που χρησιμοποίησε στις αρχές Μαΐου ο Mark Zuckerberg στο συνέδριο F8 για να πείσει τους προγραμματιστές να ενσωματώσουν στις εφαρμογές τους τη δυνατότητα ανώνυμης εγγραφής νέων χρηστών μέσω του Facebook. Με αυτόν τον τρόπο, υποστήριξε, μια εφαρμογή θα μπορεί να κερδίσει την confidence χρηστών που δεν θα τη δοκίμαζαν ποτέ, αν έπρεπε να της παραχωρήσουν εξαρχής τα προσωπικά τους δεδομένα.
Source: kathimerini.gr
