MANILA - Meta on Thursday said it has "redesigned" and rewritten the privacy policy for Facebook, Instagram and Messenger to make it easier for users to understand how their information is being handled.

Complex sentences were shortened and simplified, images were included to break the texts and actionable tools were embedded to allow users to easily update settings, Meta Vice President and Deputy Chief Privacy Officer for Policy Rob Sherman told reporters in a briefing.

The main purpose of the update is to make its data practices "clearer" using "more plain language" after gathering feedback from privacy experts, regulators and users, Sherman said.

"It was clear to us that complex terms of service and privacy policies have been the industry's standard for too long. Increasingly, we’re seeing more demand from regulators and privacy legislation for those policies to be even more comprehensive," Sherman said.

"More often than not you’ll find a long dense wall of complex text that’s actually isn’t very readable. With this update, we’ve made our privacy policy much easier to understand…We rewrote it bringing the language from college level to secondary level comprehension," he added.

Aside from simplifying the texts and including images, bold headings were also highlighted for easier reading and navigation.

New controls in the Privacy Center, or the hub for any privacy questions, were also added to manage posts and ads, Sherman said.

Meta said the Privacy Center, or the hub for any privacy questions will also be available to all users. More tools will be added in the coming months, it said.

Sherman emphasized that with the update Meta is not collecting, using or sharing data in new ways and that the company do not sell information.

The Terms of Service, meanwhile, has been updated "to better explain what is expected from us," Meta said. These include rights and obligations under the Community Standard, other intellectual property rights or other laws, it added.

SOME OF THE KEY CHANGES TO PRIVACY POLICY AND TERMS OF SERVICE
• More examples of the types of information Meta collects and how it processes information
• More details on how information is used to improve experiences
• More information on how and when it collects location-related data
• How it uses the information to personalize experiences
• More clarity on audience settings
• More explanation on collaborating with partners, vendors, service providers and third parties
• Specifics on how long information is held
• Data transfer policy clarifications
• More information on how Meta cooperates with law enforcement
• In Terms of Service, Meta provided more information on account suspension and termination, among others

Users in the Philippines will start to gradually receive the update notification on beginning Thursday 9 p.m. but the changes will take effect on July 26, 2022, Meta said.

• Facebook announces changing parent company name to ‘Meta’
• Meta rolls out updated avatars to PH users of Facebook, Messenger
• Google says it doesn't sell users' personal info as privacy concerns grow

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