FB Privacy Settings

Facebook to make privacy settings less difficult to use

By Nicolas Vega 

AFP/Getty Images

Facebook said Wednesday it will finally simplify the notoriously confusing maze of privacy settings on its site.


The embattled social network — which previously sent users to more than a dozen different pages when they wanted to adjust the amount of data they shared, or see what third-party apps had access to their information — announced plans to consolidate those settings onto one central page.

The move comes in the wake of the biggest scandal in Facebook’s 14-year history, with chief executive Mark Zuckerberg scrambling to contain the damage over revelations that Facebook spilled the data of over 50 million users to Cambridge Analytica, a firm with ties to the Trump campaign.

In a Wednesday blog post by chief privacy officer Erin Egan, Facebook insisted that the change has “been in the works for some time.”

Egan added that a new layout will “clean up” settings that have become outdated, “so it’s clear what information can and can’t be shared with apps.”

Users will also be given more control over the content they’ve previously shared on Facebook, and they will be able to more easily delete it if they want to.

“It’s also our responsibility to tell you how we collect and use your data in language that’s detailed, but also easy to understand,” the blog post reads. “These updates are about transparency — not about gaining new rights to collect, use, or share data.”

Zuckerberg last week called the leak a “breach of trust” with users in TV interviews and on his own Facebook page, and has said that if the company is unable to protect user data “we don’t deserve to serve you.”

Facebook shares were recently down 0.3 percent at $151.80.