Facebook Urgently Unveils New Tools That Allow Users To Delete Their Data

After being bashed by users for the recent data breach controversy (i.e. the Cambridge Analytica scandal), Facebook has responded by revealing new tools that allow people to see and delete their data.

The social media giant has been under fire for collecting sensitive, private information from their users and reports have even confirmed that Facebook’s market value has suffered after shares went down for about 16%.

So now Facebook is doing damage control by introducing new tools.

With the new tools, the site’s terms of service and data policy will be updated. People may now be able to view and delete data being collected about them to prevent information leak.

Sheryl Sandberg, Chief Operating Officer of Facebook, said in a post:

“We know we need to do more to help you control your privacy on Facebook. Your privacy settings should be easy to find and easy to use – and you deserve to understand exactly how your data is used and how to manage it.

“In the next few weeks, we’re making some changes that will help you find all your privacy settings in one place with a few taps. This will make it easier to keep your account secure, control who sees your posts and what ads you see, and delete past posts. You’ll also be able to download a copy of the information you’ve shared with Facebook – including photos, contacts, and posts on your timeline.”

In an official Newsroom blog entitled “It’s Time to Make Our Privacy Tools Easier to Find”, the company wrote:

“Some people want to delete things they’ve shared in the past, while others are just curious about the information Facebook has.

“So we’re introducing Access Your Information – a secure way for people to access and manage their information, such as posts, reactions, comments, and things you’ve searched for. You can go here to delete anything from your timeline or profile that you no longer want on Facebook.”

The company has also promised that more changes will be underway.

The post concluded:

“It’s also our responsibility to tell you how we collect and use your data in language that’s detailed, but also easy to understand. In the coming weeks, we’ll be proposing updates to Facebook’s terms of service that include our commitments to people. We’ll also update our data policy to better spell out what data we collect and how we use it. These updates are about transparency – not about gaining new rights to collect, use, or share data.”

Now watch this CNN interview where Mark Zuckerberg talks about the controversy: