Facebook wants to trim the fat off its privacy policy and replace lawyer-speak with language its average user can understand.
The social networking site is inviting users to engage with it over the proposed policy description changes.
"If you write a policy for lawyers, it will be read by lawyers. For users, it's got to be completely different," says Genie Barton, who enforces guidelines at the Council for Better Business Bureaus and was a consultant for Facebook's proposed policy changes
Facebook is said to have trimmed 6,300 words away from the current policy, which is composed of approximately 9,000 words. Users wishing to weigh in on the proposed changes to the social network's rules may do so by clicking here.
"Our goal is to make the information about Facebook as clear as possible," said Erin Egan, Facebook's chief privacy officer, adding, "Our hope is that it won't take long for people to read through this and really get it."
An interactive privacy guide, called Privacy Basics, accompanies the proposed updates to Facebook's terms, privacy policy and cookies policy. Facebook users can explore Privacy Basics to learn more about the social network's privacy policies and settings.
Users can learn more about issues, such as what other Facebook users see about them or the social network decides what the individual sees. Users of the Privacy Basics can test out Facebook features on interactive slides, netting them a chance to play around with the social network's settings without have to do so with their personal accounts.
For users who want to get their account in order immediately, Facebook rolled out its Privacy Checkup tool back in September. Users can let Facebook walk them through their privacy settings and make the changes necessary to avoid sharing information with the wrong people.
Egan also announced Facebook is giving users more control over the ads they see. Changes made on one platform will carry over to others.
"We've heard from some of you that it can be difficult to control the types of ads you see if you use multiple devices and browsers," says Egan, later adding: "When you tell us you don't want to see these types of ads, your decision automatically applies to every device you use to access Facebook."
Along with making changes to ad settings universal, Facebook is also giving more countries the ability to set preferences for the content they see. Countries that Facebook is now giving ad preferences to include Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Ireland and the U.K.
