Facebook creates new privacy guide

THE social network has created Privacy Basics, which breaks down all aspects of the site's terms of use, as well as privacy and data policies into questions and bullet points for users to read through.

The site details what other Facebook users see about you when they use the site, as well as how they interact with you. The site also includes guides on how to change various settings, and control how you share content on Facebook, including how to change privacy settings. The move has been welcomed by privacy campaigners, but they warn this should be the first step of many taken to improve the transparency of social networks. Emma Carr, director of privacy rights group Big Brother Watch said: "With many internet companies' privacy policies and terms and conditions being longer than Shakespearean plays and requiring multiple law degrees to understand, users are undoubtedly still in the dark about how their information is accessed and manipulated. "Until companies stop bamboozling their users with complicated and lengthy jargon, they simply cannot claim to be transparent." Facebook appear to be trying to do just that, with the California-based firm also confirming that a new version of their terms of service will come into effect on January 1, with notifications being sent to Facebook users alerting them to the change and encouraging them to read the new agreement. The new agreement has also been made shorter, with parts relating to developers and advertisers both significantly cut down or moved to new pages.