Facebook finally gets photo privacy message

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After years of calls from users for greater control over photos, Facebook has responded as part of its latest privacy tweaks.

Members can now choose whether they want to be tagged in a photo. Anytime a non-friend tries to tag a user, they will be asked by Facebook to confirm or deny that tag.

The same permission option can be switched on for friends too, although by default the authorisation feature will not work. A toggle will need to be switched so friend tags will not automatically appear in people’s feeds.

Another option offers users the chance to directly message the tagger asking them to remove photos.

Facebook has also added a tool to make it easier to control who can see posts.

“The control for who can see each post will be right inline [see below]. For each audience, there is now an icon and label to help make it easier to understand and decide who you're sharing with,” said Facebook’s vice president for product Chris Cox, in a blog post.

“Also, when you tag someone, the audience label will automatically update to show that the person tagged and their friends can see the post. This dropdown menu will be expanding over time to include smaller groups of people you may want to share with, like co-workers, Friend Lists you've created, and Groups you're a member of.”

Furthermore, once users have posted on the site, they will be able to alter who can see it.

“These changes will start to roll out in the coming days. When they reach you, you'll see a prompt for a tour that walks you through these new features from your homepage.”

Sophos, the security company which has often questioned Facebook’s privacy credentials, suggested Mark Zuckerburg’s firm could just be reacting to the emergence of Google+.

“Facebook doesn’t seem to have addressed the more fundamental privacy issues on the site,” said Graham Cluley, senior technology consultant at Sophos.

“Facebook should become truly ‘opt-in’, not just on the basis that a new user opts in by joining Facebook in the first place, but on the basis that features are turned off until users decide to activate them. Facebook should not wait until the regulators start legislating to make it do a better job. If they took the lead, people would love them all the more in the end.”

Facebook has also interestingly chosen to ditch the mobile version of Places, as part of location-based changes.

"We are phasing out the mobile-only Places feature. Settings associated with it are also being phased out or removed," the company confirmed. Users will now be able to add location tags to any posts or updates instead.

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