Facebook is adding a new feature that will allow users to manage their profiles and effectively hide old posts. The new tool is called Manage Activity, ideal for those who may have embarrassing posts in the past or want to delete any traces of exes.
Users previously had the option to change the settings to make a post only visible to themselves or delete the post altogether. Manage Activity aims to streamline the process, allowing users to archive or trash posts individually or in bulk.
Archived posts will remain visible to a user, but not to Facebook friends or the public. Trashed posts, on the other hand, will stay in the bin for a month in case users change their minds. The new feature has rolled out on the Facebook mobile app.
Manage Activity arrives as Facebook responds to years of concerns over its privacy practices. The feature doesn't control what information the social media platform has about a user, but instead, what a user's contacts can learn about the person from Facebook.
"We want to make it easy for you to curate your presence on Facebook to more accurately reflect who you are today," Facebook said in an announcement.
Deleted posts on Facebook doesn't necessarily mean it's been deleted off of the company's servers. Some data can only be erased permanently if users get rid of their accounts once and for all. If users start new accounts after deleting their old ones, it doesn't take long for the company to amass new data to help target ads.
Other peripheral data about a user is saved by Facebook as well, like the sites you visit that have the platform's tracking technology. This activity outside of Facebook can be managed on another feature. Additionally, the company collects information from users' contact lists.
Back to the new update, it's good news, as it helps save a lot of time when users want to curate their accounts. Facebook said it will add more functionality features in the near future.
Instagram already has an archive feature since 2017, so bringing it on Facebook is definitely a welcome change. Note that the feature is available on the mobile app for now, which you can access through the Activity Log.
Facebook said it will roll out the feature more widely in the coming weeks, and that it will bring the feature on Facebook Lite and desktop later.
