Meta Change Its Privacy Policy, Applies To Facebook, Messenger And Instagram

Meta plans to change and redesign its privacy policy to make it easier for users to understand (photo: doc. unsplash)

JAKARTA - Meta plans to change and redesign its privacy policy to make it easier for users to understand, use or share their information.

Millions of users of Meta's products, including Facebook, Messenger and Instagram, will receive a notification about the company's latest privacy policy soon. Unfortunately, this new privacy policy does not apply to WhatsApp.

"Starting today, Meta is rolling out a notification letting people know that we've updated our Privacy Policy, previously known as the Data Policy," said Rob Sherman, VP & Deputy Chief Privacy Officer, Policy at Meta.

The company has previously been criticized by regulators for its use of customer data. Meta says the changes won't lead companies to collect, use or share user data in new ways.

However, there are two changes to the way users can control how their information is processed. Where the new policy will give users more control over who can see their uploads by default.

Apart from that, there are also controls over which ads the user can view combined into a single interface. Meta has also updated its terms of service to better explain what is expected of the company and those who use its platform.

“This expectation includes the rights and obligations described in our Community Standards, for example when we may disable or terminate accounts that violate our Terms or Community Standards or other intellectual property rights or laws,” explains Sherman.

Furthermore, Meta also provides details about the types of third parties with whom it shares and receives information, as well as how data is shared between its products.

According to BBC International, Friday 27 May, users don't have to do anything in response to a policy update to continue using Meta products, but the company says people who don't want to accept the changes are free to leave their service.

This change came into effect on 26 July. As such, Meta is making great efforts to reconcile its desire to reduce policy complexity, while facing more demands from regulators and privacy laws to be more comprehensive.

Meta has faced increasing scrutiny from regulators about how it handles and protects user data. In February, the company warned that regulatory hurdles were likely to cut future growth.

In March, the company was fined 17 million euros (Rp 266 billion) for violating European Union data privacy laws in 2018.