Facebook’s Overly Complicated Privacy Policy Gets a Makeover

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Facebook has revamped its privacy policy, cutting out two-thirds of the legalese and other complex wording that left many Facebook users shaking their heads in confusion.

According to Time, the new, simplified policy, which takes effect Jan. 1, aims to provide Facebook’s 1.3 billion users with a more user-friendly document that clearly outlines who can see the personal information you’ve shared on the site and how that information is used.

Click here to have Facebook walk you through its privacy policy and settings in an interactive tutorial.

Although the social networking site now has a more streamlined and easy to understand privacy policy that explains how you can limit who sees your posts and other information, you can’t keep all of your information private.

“[T]he bottom line hasn’t changed: Facebook knows who you talk to, what music you listen to, what TV shows you watch, what restaurants you visit, and uses all of that information to try and sell you things,” USA Today said.

Although you can opt in or out of sharing information with third-party apps, Facebook can still use your information to target ads to your specific tastes. According to Wired:

The reality is that most Facebook users will not read the policy, and even if they do take issue with the way Facebook intends to collect information about their purchases or use their location information to target advertisements, most will likely continue to use Facebook. Such is the way of the modern Web, which is, in large part, paid for and driven by ad targeting technologies.

What do you think of Facebook’s privacy policy? Have you read it? Share your thoughts below or on our Facebook page.

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