Facebook Gives Users More Control

In a bid to give users more control over their personal data, Facebook is introducing yet more features. Perhaps one of the most notable is the Social Groups feature, that will make it possible for users to specify circles of friends with whom they want to share various data with. In addition, users will also be able to use the “Download Your Information” tool to download all the data they have ever uploaded onto the site (such as, photos, wall posts and status updates) and find it easier to see how individual applications use their personal information.

This latest move is said to be about providing more control to users on how information is shared in various contexts and with smaller groups of people. For example, information meant for office colleagues or classmates can now be separated from that which is specifically for family members. Although information can still be shared openly among all users, Facebook expect the new Groups feature to change user-behaviour and perhaps increase the number of users by attracting those who previously avoided the social networking site due to a lack of control over who sees their information.

However, analysts say that this does not fully address previous privacy concerns and could actually give users a false sense of security particularly as anyone in a group can add others to the group and those invited will automatically become members.

Talking Point

Do you expect Facebook users to embrace the new Groups feature considering the fact that only about 5% of users actually make use of already existing subset-creation features?