Facebook has just announced a site update with a combination of new features, new ideas and revamps. Of all the features announced, one caught my eye.
Download My Information
Facebook has finally made its peace with data portability advocates. They just announced that you could download all your information you uploaded to Facebook in a zip file. This includes
- Profile data
- Photos and videos
- Wall posts
- Notes
- Comments
- Friend lists
The zip file is heavily protected with a strict system of passwords, email address verification and CAPTCHA to protect it even when its on your hard drive.
This is a great first step by Facebook towards data portability but far from complete. The zip file misses a crucial information useful to us – contact information for your friends.
It is also not clear what format the content inside the zip file will be in. It would be fantastic if I could get all my contact information in a csv file so I can import it into any other contact management system.
Other New Features
Facebook re-announces a new group features. This is different from existing groups where you can join a group only if someone invites you in. This is complete with private chatrooms.
Also, there is a new third-party apps dashboard that will show you what kind of personal information is shared. It also has a log of what information was accessed by different apps.
Facebook continues to innovate in the social networking space and it is exciting times for Facebook fans.
What do you think of these changes?
{ via Facebook blog }
