Meta, a California-based tech firm that owns social media platforms Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, said it has ‘rewritten and redesigned’ its privacy policy to make it ‘easier to understand’ and also to ‘make it clearer’ to users how it used or shared their information.
The updated Meta Privacy Policy that would kick in from July 26 would cover Facebook, Instagram, Messenger, and other Meta products, but it won’t cover WhatsApp, Workplace, Free Basics, Messenger Kids or the use of Quest devices without a Facebook account, which have their own privacy policies, said erstwhile Facebook.
“Starting today, Meta is rolling out notifications letting people know that we’ve updated our Privacy Policy, formerly known as the Data Policy,” said Rob Sherman, VP & Deputy Chief Privacy Officer, Policy at Meta on Thursday.
The company further said it added more examples about the kinds of information it would collect to provide personalised services people expect, like recommended content and suggested connections.
“We’ve also included more details about the types of third parties with whom we share and receive information and explained how and why people’s information is shared across our products, among other changes,” he explained.
However, he clarified, “Meta is not collecting, using or sharing your data in new ways based on this policy update.”
The 5 Ws around the new privacy policy for Facebook, Instagram, Messenger. | Photo Credit: HANDOUT E MAIL
Instead, Meta has added detailed explanations including how it uses and shares information with third parties. It also paired the policy with a Privacy Centre and new controls to manage user experience, like who would see users’ posts and the topics they want to see ads about.
Inspired by feedback from privacy experts, policy makers and people who use Meta’s technologies, the company rewrote its Privacy Policy to make it easier to understand and to reflect the latest products it offered, he added while speaking at a virtual media conference.
Mr. Sherman said users would be able to continue to manage their privacy settings at any time, yet Meta was committed to letting them know if makes any changes to how it collects, uses and shares information.
Meta would also update its terms of service, to better explain what is expected from the company and those who use its platforms.
“These expectations include the rights and obligations described in our Community Standards, for example when we may disable or terminate accounts that violate our Terms or Community Standards or others’ intellectual property rights or other laws,” he explained
Commenting on the rationale behind the change, Meta official said, as privacy and data protection regulations have improved around the world in recent years, Meta has explored ideas in people-centred privacy design and worked to make its data practices more transparent.
“Our aim going forward is to update our Privacy Policy more frequently as we continue to learn what areas we can improve,” Mr. Sherman further said.
