To help people make informed decision about who can find the group and see the members and posts that are part of it, Facebook has rolled out a new simplified privacy model for Groups – public and private to describe the privacy settings of groups they belong to.
With two clear options, Facebook believes this new privacy model is much more intuitive. Public groups allow anyone to see who’s in the group and everything that’s shared there. With private groups, only members can see who else is in the group and what they’ve posted.
‘We also heard that people want more control over how their groups can be discovered. So now admins will be able to clearly choose whether or not the group can be found in search and other places. By separating the privacy settings for posts and group membership from the overall discoverability of the group, it is easier for admins to understand and manage their group privacy settings, and also easier for members to know important information like who can find the group,’ Facebook said in a blog post.
By default, a group that was formerly ‘secret’ will now be ‘private’ and ‘hidden.’ A group that was formerly ‘closed’ will now be ‘private’ and ‘visible.’ Groups that are ‘public’ will remain ‘public’ and ‘visible.’ Admins can find the new controls in their Group Settings.
Facebook has been continuously bringing new updates to ensure that people have a safe experience on Facebook. Over the last few years, the company has invested heavily in people and technology, hiring more than 30,000 people across its safety and security teams.
