In an effort to enrich its user experience and allow people to have more control over their privacy and safety, Facebook recently introduced a number of important changes and upgrades to its privacy policy. Carefully mapped out and experimented prior to full-on implementation, the revised privacy policies and mechanisms are more elaborate, transparent and clearly laid out than ever before. Users can now be more aware of the different types of data they share on Facebook, whilst being fully in charge of who sees and has access to what.

Facebook wants you to know what exactly you’re sharing with them: When you sign up for Facebook, there are various types of data and information of a personal nature that Facebook automatically gains access to. To have a clear understanding of its commitment to safeguarding your privacy, Facebook encourages you to be informed and keep yourself up-to-date on the different kind of details that it acquires once you sign up and begin using the platform. 

What kind of personal data does Facebook collect from its users: Examples of personal user data that Facebook retains include profile information such as your name, hometown, residence, contact details, bio data and life events. Facebook also has access to your location history (if you keep location services active on your device), the photos, videos and posts that you upload and share, logs and history of calls and messages to and from contacts that you’ve chosen to merge with your Facebook Messenger account are all accessible. 

Other personal data that Facebook can access includes the history of your logins, logouts, periods of time that you are active as well as the devices you use to access Facebook. In addition to this, Facebook maintains records of the people you are friends with, the messages you exchange through Messenger, a history of your searches on the platform, the apps and websites that you log into using your Facebook profile, and the public, private and closed groups that you’re a part of. 

What are the other generic kinds of data that Facebook has access to: The social media platform also reserves the right to store different types of generic data derived from third parties such as advertisers and business pages. By default, Facebook gains access to your activity in the marketplace and information that you submit to advertisers or that which they collect directly from you. Facebook also keeps track of the places and pages that you create, your saved and bookmarked items on the platform, as well as the networks that you use.

Have complete control and knowledge of what you’re sharing: In its revised privacy policies and protocols, Facebook introduced an easy and effective way for users to keep track and be informed of the personal and generic information that they share with the social media platform. The new privacy settings now allow users to download and review all of their data that Facebook has access to, by simply clicking on the general settings tab of their profiles and following a few quick steps.
In our next article, we will highlight the tools that you can use to protect your data on Facebook.
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