When it comes to new features being introduced by Facebook, we all tend to be risk-adverse. Questions start pouring in our heads: why have they changed the design again? Did my privacy settings change? (and optionally for some: wouldn’t it better if I just desactivated my account once and for all?)
Even though your privacy settings stay unchanged, a lot of information will be more visible to others than in the old interface. Let’s have a look.
At the top, your friends will be able to see your relationship status, hometown and work status, among other things. “Who cares, my friends already know all of that!” I hear you say. As much as we love that you’re embracing social media, be careful, because potential recruiters will be able to see that, too (depending on your privacy settings).
Just below, you will see a row of 5 pictures of you. To keep a picture from being seen by others, simply click on the “x” to hide it. Note however that the picture will still appear under your tagged pictures on the left hand panel. So if you never want to see that picture of your Halloween costume again, you can always untag yourself or delete the picture.
You will also notice that the “Info” section has completely changed. Instead of a long boring list of activities, you will find that your favorite people, sports, interests are appearing as images.
The “Photos” section has become an “infinite scroll”, so you will no longer need to stop and click on page 2, 3, or 4 to see your friends’ pictures. Stalking made easier, thank you Facebook!
In short, Facebook has made the new profiles more interactive, visual…so what’s the big deal?
Well, there are a few surprises that come along with the new profile:
- Congratulations, you can now edit your friend’s interests on Facebook! If you’ve always wanted to add “complaining” or “snoring” to your friend’s activities, sorry to disappoint, but you can only edit the sports yet! But fingers crossed, you may be able to edit all of your friends’ interests in a few months!
- Lists have also been given a new surprising function: you can now highlight certain relationships (visible to anyone) on Facebook. You can now create lists such as “Family”, “Best Friends”, “Colleagues”, etc. But before telling the whole world about whom your best friends are, don’t forget the list will be visible to everyone…including those who did not make the cut into the your “BFF” list!
So what do you think of the new Facebook profile: do you love it or hate it?
If you haven’t opted for it yet, check out Facebook’s official video and announcement.