James Martin/CNET
Meta wants you to feel safer using its products. The social media giant announced the Privacy Center on Friday, a one-stop shop for users to learn about the company’s approach to privacy across its platforms including Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, and how to use the privacy tools it offers.
The Privacy Center consists of five modules — security, sharing, data collection, data use and ads — that each come with guides and controls for each individual topic. Privacy Center is currently available on the desktop version of Facebook for some users, with a wider rollout across Meta’s apps and technologies coming soon.
“We’ve built a number of privacy and security controls across our apps and technologies over the years, and our goal is for Privacy Center to serve as a hub for those controls and privacy education,” Meta wrote in a Jan. 7 blog post.
Those who have access to the Privacy Center can find it by going to Settings, then clicking on Privacy on the desktop version of Facebook.
Meta has long faced issues with privacy and security and has spent much of the last year working to rebuild users’ trust in the face of mounting criticism. In September, Facebook announced it spent billions of dollars to combat misinformation and beef up its security and safety. The following month, the company rebranded to Meta in an effort to refocus its priorities while emphasizing its belief in the future growth of virtual reality.
The social network has in the past rolled out tools to make the platform’s privacy settings easier to find. In 2018, Facebook redesigned its settings menu and introduced a privacy shortcuts menu. A Meta spokesperson said the privacy center announced on Friday is a separate product.