Facebook has updated its privacy policy, once again attempting to simplify it amid criticism that the policy is too complicated and hard for the average user to understand.
The social media company cut around 70 percent of the 9,000 words of legalese that was in the previous privacy policy, most of it not understandable for most users.
"Today, we're introducing Privacy Basics, which gives you tips and a how-to guide for taking charge of your experience on Facebook," said the company in a statement. "We're also proposing updates to our terms, data policy, and cookies policy to reflect new features we've been working on. And we're continuing to improve ads based on the apps and sites you use and expanding your control over this kind of advertising. For the next 7 days, you'll be able to submit comments and suggestions about our updates."
The new privacy policy is essentially being offered in a color-coded, interactive fashion so that users are more attracted to taking control of their privacy. Privacy Basics is very easy to use and gives users no excuse to not know what their privacy settings are on the social media network.
Despite the update, the overall message is essentially the same; Facebook knows who you are, where you live, what you're interested in and where you visit. It uses all of this information to sell products through advertisements, from which it earns billions.
"This is mostly a messaging exercise," said Rob Enderle, principal analyst at the Enderle Group. "They are making it simpler to avoid misunderstandings and reduce concerns associated with confusion."
Facebook is also giving users an opportunity to have their voices heard in the privacy policy, accepting comments related to it until Thursday, Nov. 20. The social media company admits that Privacy Basics is a work-in-progress and thus will likely be tweaked in the near future.
The company also, rather blatantly, admitted that it collected a host of information from users, which may have been known to most users for a while. Despite this, it is generally seen as good that Facebook is being more blunt.
"We collect information from or about the computers, phones, or other devices where you install or access our Services," said Facebook. These include "device locations, including specific geographic locations, such as through GPS, Bluetooth, or Wi-Fi signals."
Despite the fact that Facebook is clearly doing users a service by updating the privacy policy, some suggest that the company may be oversimplifying its policy and leaving information out.
