Facebook rolled out new privacy features on Wednesday to give users more control over who sees the information they share. It made two changes: a standardized privacy interface and new privacy options available through this interface.
“In theory, this is good. But Facebook has had situations in the past where they’ve announced things that sound good in theory, but in practice have not worked out,” said Ari Schwartz, deputy director at the Center for Democracy and Technology. “We have to see how the controls actually work and test them out.”
Friends of Friends
Facebook added a “Friends of Friends” privacy option that allows users to share information with more people to whom they are connected through their friends.
“We thought this provided a much-needed option for people whose strongest social connections are not through the networks they’ve joined, but through the friends they’ve added,” Naomi Gleit, a product manager at Facebook, wrote on the company’s blog.
The second new option is the ability to share and restrict information based on specific friends or friend lists. “Now, in addition to messaging and event and group invitations, friend lists can help you communicate by choosing what information you share with certain groups of people.”
For example, you can upload your family vacation photo album and share it only with your mom and dad, or only your “Family” friend list. Alternatively, you can restrict loved ones from seeing a photo album that may not be so family-friendly by excluding your “Family” friend list.
Facebook has also redesigned its privacy section to make it simpler and easier to use. “We’re always building more ways for you to control your information on Facebook, so stay tuned for more in the future,” Gleit promised.
Facebook’s Conundrum
Schwartz said Facebook is facing a conundrum. The social-networking site wants to make more information open. But at…