This morning on Facebook, you may have seen a notification pop up informing you of updates to the site’s terms of service, as well as introducing some new features that will be rolling out in the coming months.
The most basic part of this morning’s notification is, quite literally, Privacy Basics.
The site’s privacy settings are famously so annoying to navigate that all but the most tenacious give up, so this new privacy tutorial, which you can explore right here, is a handy pictorial helper for those who are worried about the security of their shit.
The more interesting parts, however, come later. For instance, as of early next year, Facebook will be rolling out an optional new feature called Nearby Friends, which will use your location information to show you who’s doing what around you.
“For example,” they said in this morning’s statement, “in the future, if you decide to share where you are, you might see menus from restaurants nearby or updates from friends in the area.”
Another potentially big change is the fact that Facebook appears to be testing the waters of online shopping, with a new feature set to roll out from next year.
“In some regions, we’re testing a Buy button that helps people discover and purchase products without leaving Facebook,” they said. “We’re also working on new ways to make transactions even more convenient.”
The other big change has to do with advertising. In order to be more transparent, Facebook will allow users in certain countries – Australia among them – to have greater control over the ads they see.
“Your ad preferences are a way to learn why you’re seeing a particular ad, and control how we use information about you on and off Facebook to decide which ads to show you.”
In the past, if users chose to opt out of certain Facebook ads on one device, like their smartphone, that decision did not always apply to another, like their laptop. The new updates will also tighten this up, so out-outs will now apply across all devices.
Now, we’re the last to get on our high horses about advertising, because as you may be aware, we rely on it to keep providing you with sweet, delicious content for free ..
… but it does seem like something Facebook should have already done, so we guess it’s cool of them that they’re finally getting around to doing it now.
As for the broader implications of these new features, who knows what this all means? By next year, you might be doing all your online shopping on Facebook, and laughing at the stanky old 2014 you who had to click through to other websites to purchase stuff.
