Facebook Rolls Out New Privacy Updates

Date: 05/24/2018

Following the recent Facebook/Cambridge Analytica incident, the social media giant is taking steps to help users have a better understanding of their terms of service, as well as, allowing users to personalize their settings.

The Facebook terms and data policy have been updated to explain how they collect, use and share data from your profile. And it’s requiring you to review before going further with your social session.

Users can now remove information they no longer wish to share. This includes religious views, political views and dating preference. Facebook will allow users to adjust privacy settings to pick who gets to see this information. However, if users decide to provide this information, Facebook will use it to personalize features and products tailored to your preferences.

As far as the ads that appear on your Facebook page, you can now control whether or not they use your data to personalize them. Facebook can collect when you make online purchases, download apps, like a partner’s page and when you make an in-store purchase from one of their partners. So if you purchase a phone online, you might see ads for phone cases and phone chargers. If you decide to disallow Facebook from collecting your data you will still receive ads; they will just be randomized.

Facebook is also allowing users to turn off facial recognition. This technology helps Facebook recognize when you appear in photos, videos and the camera. It also helps protect you from strangers using your photo, find photos you’re in that you’re not tagged in and tell people with visual impairments who is and is not in a photo. However, you can still tag yourself in photos and report fake profiles if you do decide to turn off the face recognition option.

Users can go to their settings at any time to make these changes. All of this information is on Facebook’s updated terms, data policy and cookies policy. It also states that Facebook will clarify how they are using data so users can make decisions on whether or not they want that data collected.

The most important privacy setting isn’t in your account, though, it’s in your own behavior. Never post anything—a photograph, a viewpoint, or even an offhand reply to someone else’s post—that you would not want shared with others.


For toll-free, no-cost assistance, contact the Identity Theft Resource Center at (888) 400-5530. For on-the-go assistance, check out the free ID Theft Help App from ITRC.

How much information are you putting out there? It’s probably too much. To help you stop sharing Too Much Information, sign up for the In the Loop.

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