Meta’s Privacy Policy: A Critical Examination of Changes

Meta has announced that on July 26, 2022, new changes to their privacy policy and terms of service will be put into effect. While Meta users don’t have to respond to any sort of notification to continue regular use of their favorite Meta apps, this could be helpful information that you don’t want to miss.

Here are four major takeaways from the changes that Meta is rolling out…

1. This Policy Is Focused on Language and Transparency

At the center of this privacy policy update is increased transparency and simplicity, as well as more information needed to control your own privacy within the Meta ecosystem. Meta is essentially giving users more tools to protect their own privacy. There will also be updates to Meta’s Terms of Service, making it more clear what is expected of both Meta and users alike.

Meta began rolling out notifications about their new privacy policy update in May 2022. These notifications serve as a way to let Meta users educate themselves on the new update, but no action is required to continue using Meta platforms.

Three phone screens with facebook notifications about a privacy policy update

According to Meta, these changes have been “inspired by feedback from privacy experts, policymakers, and people who use [Meta] services”.

In the past Meta has received backlash forthe ways Facebook invades users’ privacy by sharing their information in ways they weren’t aware of. With this update, Meta aims to ease the minds of worried users and give them more information on how data is shared.

Meta says this update will include clearer information on its data-sharing practices as well as information on the third parties Meta shares information with.

The current privacy policy for Meta is just chunks of text, and it can be hard to sift through in order to find the information you are looking for.

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The new privacy policy is much more user-friendly, utilizing real-life examples to explain each aspect of Meta’s policy fully, and using graphics to break up large chunks of text.

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2. Meta Will Not Gain Any New Rights to Your Data

This update does not give Meta any new rights to your data. The company is likely emphasizing this in the wake of thecontroversy around the WhatsApp Privacy Policy update in 2021 .

3. The Update Comes With New Tools to Protect Your Data

This update gives clear instructions onhow to use the Facebook Privacy Center that was first introduced in January 2022. The Privacy Center is a hub of both privacy information and controls that help you understand and control your Meta experience.

This update does a better job at guiding you through new and old privacy settings that you may not currently be aware of. You can even perform a privacy check-up, which will guide you through all available privacy settings.

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With this update, sections about new features like Shops and Facebook View will be included in the Privacy Center, to give you a better understanding of how Meta collects information from these new features as well.

4. You Cannot Opt Out of This Update

You cannot opt out of this update, however this update does not have to change your Meta experience if you don’t want it to. This update is more about education when it comes to data sharing and how your privacy is being impacted when you use Meta platforms.

While you can’t opt out of this update, you also don’t have to do anything to manually update your accounts. You can completely ignore all notifications about this update and continue using Meta platforms like usual, but looking into the notifications and this eventual update can help you be more aware of how your information is being collected and shared.

Why Should You Pay Attention to This New Update?

This update will happen whether you are paying attention or not. However, looking through your Facebook or Instagram notifications about this update will give you important information about your privacy and how to take control of it on Meta’s platforms using its new and pre-existing privacy settings.

Educating yourself on the ins and outs of this new update is the best way to remain in control of your own privacy while enjoying the pleasures of entertainment and connection on social media.