Facebook Rewrites Privacy Policies To Detail Device Data Collection
Facebook updates its Terms of Service and Data Use Policy with plain English explanations of how it collects user information from devices. The company opens a seven-day public comment period before requiring all users to accept the updated rules.
Facebook releases rewritten versions of its Terms of Service and Data Use Policy to explain in plain English how it collects and uses personal information. The social network does not ask for new data collection rights or change existing privacy settings, but it does require all users to consent to these first updates in three years. The public has a seven-day window to comment on the changes before Facebook finalizes the new rules.
The sheer length and structural changes of the new documents make direct comparisons with the old policies difficult. However, the most revealing section of the updated terms details exactly what information Facebook gathers from user devices. This transparent approach appears to be a direct response to user confusion and conspiracy theories regarding microphone snooping and the collection of SMS and call log histories.
Facebook now explicitly lists the specific types of data it pulls from devices, including hardware attributes like battery level and storage space, as well as operational behaviors like mouse movements used to distinguish humans from bots. The policy also covers identifiers, Bluetooth signals, nearby Wi-Fi access points, cookie data, and network details such as IP addresses and connection speeds to facilitate features like video streaming to televisions.