Facebook Marks Data Privacy Day By Reminding Users To Protect Themselves

When it comes to data privacy, Facebook doesn’t exactly have a sterling reputation. So when the company marked Data Privacy Day this year by reminding users to protect their own info, it was unsurprisingly greeted with an incredulous reaction.

To its credit, Facebook also took the occasion to announce one new feature — a privacy and data hub for businesses to ensure they’re properly people’s information while staying compliant with the platform’s rules. However, this new tool doesn’t do much for regular users. All Facebook had to recommend for them was the site’s own Privacy Checkup tool. Of course, the company went on to offer vague assurances that it will do more this year to hold up its end of the bargain.

“While Data Privacy Day is a good time to think about protecting your information, we’re continuing to work throughout the year to improve the privacy controls we offer on Facebook and better communicate about how we protect people’s information,” Facebook’s Chief Privacy Officer Erin Egan wrote in a blog post.

The only privacy tool that Facebook explicitly promised to introduce this year was a Clear History feature, and even then it didn’t disclose when that will be arriving. So for now, all we can do is look out for ourselves — and hope Facebook steps up its efforts to protect us.