Facebook adds privacy checker tool and new default settings to make posts less public
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Facebook is still trying to undo years of complaints about its privacy settings by releasing further update to its controls.
When new users sign up to the site their default audience is now set to Friends only - it was previously set to Public.
The site is also rolling out a privacy checker tool to help existing users review their settings and make sure they're not sharing more than they want to.
The default audience for new Facebook users has been changed from 'Public' to 'Friends' under changes to the site's privacy settings. First-time posters will also see a reminder, pictured, to choose an audience for their post. If they don't make a choice, it will be set to Friends
The changes follow an update last month that introduced anonymous logins for apps.
TEENAGERS CAN NOW MAKE PUBLIC POSTS ON FACEBOOK
Facebook came under fire last year for allowing teenagers to make public posts.
Before the update Facebook prevented under 18s making posts public; the widest audience they could reach was Friends of Friends.
In a blog post in October, Facebook said: 'Teens are among the savviest people using social media, and whether it comes to civic engagement, activism, or their thoughts on a new movie, they want to be heard.
'So, starting today, people aged 13 through 17 will also have the choice to post publicly on Facebook.'
'On Facebook you can share whatever you want with whomever you want, from a one-to-one conversation, to friends or to everyone,' the company said in an official blog post.
'While some people want to post to everyone, others have told us that they are more comfortable sharing with a smaller group, like just their friends.
'We recognise that it is much worse for someone to accidentally share with everyone when they actually meant to share just with friends, compared with the reverse.
'So, going forward, when new people join Facebook, the default audience of their first post will be set to Friends. Previously, for most people, it was set to Public.'
The site is also rolling out a privacy checker tool to help existing users review their settings. The new tool, pictured, will take users through steps to review things such as who they're posting to, which apps they use, and the privacy of key pieces of information on their profile
First-time posters will see a reminder to choose an audience for their first post, and if they don't make a choice, it will be set to Friends.
All users can change who they are posting to at any time, and can change the privacy of their past posts too.
Meanwhile, the new privacy checker tool will take users through steps to review things such as who they're posting to, which apps they use, and the privacy of key pieces of information on their profile.
'We want to do all we can to put power and control in people's hands,' continued the blog post.
This update follows recent changes including a public posting reminder, that alerts people when they're about to share a post with everyone, a simplified audience selectors on Facebook for iPhone, pictured, and anonymous login and new controls for Facebook Login on connected sites and apps
'This new tool is designed to help people make sure they are sharing with just the audience they want. Everything about how privacy works on Facebook remains the same.'
The update follows other recent changes including a public posting reminder, that alerts people when they're about to share a post with everyone, a simplified audience selectors on Facebook for iPhone, and anonymous login and new controls for Facebook Login.
Anonymous Login, announced in April, lets users log into apps and connect their account on other site without sharing any personal information from Facebook.
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