The new digital hub is currently available to select for American Facebook users
Meta is introducing a new Privacy Center, a digital hub for users to learn about privacy issues and get answers to the most common questions regarding their data protection and personal information.
Privacy Center provides detailed information on five main areas, which according to Meta are Security, Sharing, Collection, Use, and Ads. Each one of these five modules comes with guides and controls for each topic. The main aim of this online hub is to educate users about the company’s approach towards security and privacy issues across its apps and services.
Currently, Privacy Center is available to select from users in the US on the desktop version of Facebook and as stated by Meta it will soon be offered to more people and apps in the coming months.
“We’ve built a number of privacy and security controls across our apps and technologies over the years, and our goal is for Privacy Center to serve as a hub for those controls and privacy education” Meta noted in an official announcement. “In Privacy Center, you can learn about our approach to privacy, read up on our Data Policy, and learn how to use the many privacy and security controls that we offer” the company added.
Five new modules
As Facebook’s parent company explained, the Security module provides information regarding users’ account security and educates them on tools such as ‘two-factor-authentication’. Users can also learn more about how Meta copes with data scraping. In the Sharing module, users can learn about tools like ‘Manage Activity’ and get access to information like who sees what they post or how they can clean up old posts on their profiles.
To learn about the different types of data that Meta collects users should visit the Collection module in Privacy Center, where they can also learn how to use tools like ‘Access Your Information’. In addition, the Use module explains how and why Meta uses data and the Ads module spotlights how users’ information is used to determine the ads they see.
“People who have access to this initial launch can find Privacy Center by navigating to Settings and Privacy on the desktop version of Facebook. As we expand Privacy Center, we will add more ways to access it in places where you may have privacy concerns” Meta noted. “We’ll continue to update Privacy Center and add more modules and controls to help people understand our approach to privacy across our apps and technologies”.
Over the past months, Meta has extended its privacy measures for its users. The most distinctive security measures were that Meta axed its facial recognition software program and announced it was taking legal action against phishing schemes. Back in 2018, Facebook redesigned its settings menu to make the platform’s privacy settings easier to find, and over these years it has introduced a lot of new privacy tools. However, in 2021 Meta faced allegations about its privacy and security policy and the company is now working on rebuilding users’ trust in the face of mounting criticism.
