Facebook Made a Privacy Update That Impacts Only Teen Users

SAN FRANCISCO (TheBlaze/AP) — Facebook has made a new privacy update, this time directed specifically at teenage users.

The social network is now allowing teenagers -- anyone who lists their ages as somewhere from 13 to 17 -- to share their posts on the social network with anyone on the Internet.

Until now, Facebook users falling within that age group had been limited to sharing information and photos only with their own friends or friends of those friends.

The new policy announced Wednesday will give teens the choice of switching their settings so their posts can be accessible to the general public. Facebook said teens opting to be more open will receive a warning that they are exposing themselves to a broader audience.

This warning will show up for teen users who have opted to make their posts public. (Image source: Facebook)

"We take the safety of teens very seriously, so they will see an extra reminder before they can share publicly," Facebook stated. "When teens choose 'Public' in the audience selector, they’ll see a reminder that the post can be seen by anyone, not just people they know, with an option to change the post’s privacy."

The initial privacy settings of teens under 18 will automatically be programmed so posts are seen only by friends.

Facebook last year announced that it might consider someday opening the social network to the 12 and under crowd.

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Featured image via PromesaArtStudio / Shutterstock.com.

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