Facebook will again tweak its privacy controls to give its 200 million users simplified control over what they want the public and their friends to see. In the past months, Firefox has added multiple privacy controls that confused and angered its members. Chief Privacy Officer Chris Kelly said Wednesday that Facebook will begin a series of tests to simplify choices. “With the test we’re announcing today, we’ll move toward simplifying these settings and putting them all on the same page,” Kelly said. Facebook users will soon begin to see the move to new settings. During the process, Facebook will ask offer a Transition Tool so users can select their level of sharing. The settings will be tested by 40,000 U.S. Facebook users in week one, using one of the six versions of the Transition Tool. Tests in week two will include 80,000 users worldwide. In week three, Facebook will slowly begin rolling out the final product

to all users. Easing Confusion “I think that Facebook very much needed to revamp its user interface, the many mechanisms that deal with privacy controls,” said Ray Valdes, a Gartner analyst. “This had become complex due to a steady accumulation of features over the years that needed to be put back in order toward a more cohesive user experience.” The slew of updates and changes to the social-networking site included the “everyone” option in March, which allowed users to share all information, including photos and posts. Last week, Facebook launched a beta version of the Publisher Privacy Control, which allows users to decide who can see their published content on a per-post basis. Combined, those features enable users to allow some posts to be seen by everyone and other posts to be seen only by select friends. “You will have the choice of being as open…

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Facebook Will Simplify Confusing Privacy Controls