Facebook privacy overhaul: how does this affect you?

Facebook privacy overhaul: how does this affect you?

In response to user-generated feedback, Facebook announced last week that it has made massive sharing and privacy changes to the social media site.

Here are four of the most notable changes:

1.  Profile view and sharing options

Prior to these changes, privacy options were hidden within Facebook, but are now more visible. For example, “View Profile As,” where you type in a friend’s name in order to view how your profile looks to them (to ensure your privacy settings are up to par) is now easier to find and located at the top of your profile.

Additionally, in each status update, photo, or other content you share on your profile, you are able to customize the audience that will see the post – public, friends, or custom. In the future, this feature will become even more tailored to your audience by allowing you to share with smaller groups of people you’re associated with (i.e. co-workers) – very similar to Google+ Circles.

2.  Tagging features

When you’re tagged in a post or photo, you now have the ability to “accept” or “reject” the content before it‘s published on your profile. You have the same option when someone tries to add a tag to your posts and photos. All posts by non-friends that tag a user are placed in a “Pending Posts” tab accessible from the profile.

3.  Locations, no longer Facebook Places

Facebook Places is no more –now you can add your location to anything you post. The mobile Facebook Places feature is being phased out and as of now, it seems unclear if Facebook check-in deals will still exist or how they will work.

4.  Tagging Pages

With social media evolving into a major role in public relations, we are constantly monitoring client Facebook pages and thinking of new ways to create engagement. A downside to the privacy changes for Facebook pages is that fans are no longer required to “like” a page to tag it in a post or photo, taking away one of the incentives to “like” a company or brand.

As Facebook continues to evolve, companies need to continue putting efforts towards using the creative applications through contests, welcome pages, and content/news sharing to further engage fans and give them a reason to come back for more.

Read about all the changes in Facebook’s blog post, “making it easier to share with who you want.”