Facebook is rolling out a Privacy Checkup tool in the wake of criticism against its Facebook Messanger app.
Last month, when the app was released, the company received a torrent of criticism for the move, saying it invaded users’ privacy.
But this week, Facebook appears to be responding to the backlash against Messenger and a few other controversial measures by launching a new tool to determine if one’s friends or the public can see posts.
Facebook started rolling out the Privacy Checkup tool for users on Thursday.
“Today, we’re starting to roll out Privacy Checkup, which helps you review and control who you’re sharing with,” Facebook said on its newsroom. “We know you come to Facebook to connect with friends, not with us. But we also know how important it is to be in control of what you share and who you share with.”
It adds: “You'll see the option to take Privacy Checkup when you visit Facebook in the coming days. Click ”Let’s Do It!“ to do the Checkup; it should only take a minute or two.”
According to a post last week, Facebook also tried to dispel rumors about its Facebook Messenger app.
“You might have heard the rumors going around about the Messenger app,” Facebook said in a statement. “Some have claimed that the app is always using your phone’s camera and microphone to see and hear what you’re doing. These reports aren’t true, and many have been corrected. Still, we want to address some concerns you might have.”
It added: “How we actually use the camera and microphone—Like most other apps, we request permission to run certain features, such as making calls and sending photos, videos or voice messages. If you want to send a selfie to a friend, the app needs permission to turn on your phone’s camera and capture that photo. We don’t turn on your camera or microphone when you aren’t using the app.”
On the Apple Store, users were still writing negative reviews about the app.
“I’m extremely annoyed that Facebook has forced its users to download an additional app in order to send/receive Facebook messages. Reluctantly, I downloaded it because I wasn’t able to get into my messages via the normal Facebook app any longer,” one person said.
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