I’ve written a lot about over-sharing on social media. Why? Because it can be embarrassing, annoying and, in the worst case, dangerous to over-share our private information.

Often over-sharing happens unintentionally, because people haven’t adjusted their privacy settings.  On Facebook for example, every time you post it’s possible to choose who can see it.

The issue is that people regularly overlook privacy options or just fail to understand why it is a good idea. Facebook has taken steps to change this with the introduction of “Privacy Basics”.

Available from January 1^st, Facebook will provide interactive guides to answer commonly asked questions about how to control your personal information on the site. These guides, available in 36 languages, will allow users to learn more about untagging, unfriending, blocking and more.

Here’s what Privacy Basics can help you control on Facebook:

What others see about you – Control who can see your posts, profile and friends, how to remove comments, tags and accounts.

How others interact with you – What other people can post on your timeline, what people can do to things you post, how to block users and what to do if your account is hacked.

What you see – How to customize what you see in your newsfeed and from advertisers.

 

Erin Egan, Facebook’s Chief Privacy Officer, described it this way: ”Privacy Basics is the latest step we’ve taken to help you make sure you’re sharing with exactly who you want, including our privacy checkup, reminder for people posting publicly and simplified audience selectors.” You can read the announcement here.

Making Facebook settings simple, more intuitive, and explainable is great news, especially for new users.

Of course, it’s up to all of us to control our settings. Facebook is essentially handing you the keys. As the welcoming page for Privacy Basics says, “You’re in Charge.”