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Concerned about security for users, especially minors, social networking Web site Facebook this week introduced new privacy features. These features give users more control over who can or cannot see data stored on their profile pages.

The new privacy controls let users choose which of their friends can see information such as photo albums, mobile phone number or e-mail addresses, PC World said report. 
 
Last November, Facebook launched an online advertising tool, Beacon. This raised the issue of security, with bloggers and privacy experts condemning the program for being confusing and potentially dangerous for users, PC World said. These concerns were compounded when it was revealed that Beacon tracked Web behavior and sent data back to Facebook without notifying users. Under heavy criticism, Facebook was forced to redesign Beacon.

Now, Facebook is responding to the concerns by taking precautions intended to ensure users’ privacy, without introducing tools or interfaces that are confusing.
 
“We’ve introduced a standardized privacy interface that users will see when they’re editing their privacy setting anywhere,” Facebook’s product manager, Naomi Gleit, was quoted as saying in the PC World report.
 
With the new tools, users can share information about themselves with a wider group of people. This is possible because of a “friends-of-friends” feature. The new privacy features do not have any relationship to Beacon, PC World noted.
 
Facebook clearly wants to provide powerful tools for its users that are easy to use. But this is easier said than done considering the sheer size of the Facebook user base, spread all across the globe, PC World noted. Just 18 months ago, 90 percent of Facebook’s users were in the U.S. Today, about two-thirds of the 67 million active members are from outside the country. While the problems of the Web site were relatively easier to solve earlier, it is now getting difficult for the company to do so as its user base broadens.
 
Also this week, Facebook announced the introduction of a chat software that can be used to connect with other Facebook users, so long as they are logged into the Facebook Web site, PC World said.

Source: TMCnet