Facebook’s ‘Privacy Basics’ site now more mobile-friendly with new guides and a FAQ

Three years ago, Facebook launched Privacy Basics, a site that sought to educate the social network’s users on how to better protect their data from people they didn’t intend to share it with. Today, the company introduced a revamped version, one that is now mobile-friendly, contains more interactive guides, and has a new section featuring Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs).

Just in time for Data Privacy Day, Facebook is seeking to remind users to double-check their security.

Privacy Basics offers tips and advice around Facebook privacy, an issue that has repeatedly plagued the company in the past. Over the years, there have been efforts made to improve education, including the launch of a checklist within the social network. But Privacy Basics is intended to be the one place where you can really get all your questions answered.

What’s surprising is that the privacy site wasn’t as mobile-friendly as it is now. Facebook has now redesigned it so there are ways to access the site easily, and it has been streamlined so there are fewer subpages to choose from and you can get to the topic you want faster. There’s even an updated navigation menu.

The site also includes a Top Topics section that showcases frequently asked questions, such as “How can I see what my profile looks like to someone else?” Thirty-two interactive guides are featured, translated across 44 languages, and are designed as resources for users to try out tools and other capabilities at their leisure — think of them as tutorials.

Lastly, there are direct links to the aforementioned Privacy Checkup.

“People were already engaging with the earlier version, but we’re always looking for ways to improve, keep educating, and make our privacy controls even easier to find and use. That’s why we organized the new Privacy Basics based on people’s feedback,” a company spokesperson told VentureBeat. “It’s also why we worked on making it more mobile friendly so people can access it whenever they need. To help with education, people will see prompts on Facebook customized to their specific contexts. For example, if you make a post to a ‘public’ audience, you may receive a prompt to visit Privacy Basics so that you know what your audience options are.”