Love it or hate it, Facebook exists, and it's the largest social media platform in the world.?
It has truly connected the world, but it hasn¡¯t been the safest platform, with many people, especially women facing issues of fake profiles taking images from the account.?
Such occurrences have truly made many women feel vulnerable. However, Facebook has now introduced a new feature where users can lock people -- even friends and relatives from taking a peep in personal photos and posts.
This feature was announced in India and is the successor to the profile picture guard that came out some years ago. This, however, is much more thorough. Once the profile is locked, other users will only see profile images of you -- personal images, albums all those would be hidden from the world. Users can neither share or download these images.?
Ankhi Das, Public Policy Director, Facebook India says, ¡°We are committed to providing a safe platform for people to express themselves. We are deeply aware of the concerns people in India, particularly women, have about protecting their online profile. Today, we are announcing a new feature which, in one easy step, will give people a lot more control, ensure their privacy and keep them safe and secure online.¡±
Even new images and posts made by users will be hidden, and while posting they¡¯ll be notified of the locked status of the account. This doesn¡¯t mean locked users cannot be tagged in posts, however, these tagged posts won¡¯t appear on his/her timeline, unless they allow it.?
Ranjana Kumari, Director, Centre for Social Research said in a statement, ¡°We have often heard from young girls that they are hesitant to share about themselves online and are intimidated by the idea of someone misusing their information. I am very happy to see that Facebook is making efforts to learn about their concerns and building products that can give them the experience they want. This new safety feature will give women, especially young girls a chance to express themselves freely.¡±?
Even though the feature is brought keeping safety of women online, this feature will be available for males on the platform too.
The feature is in the process of gradually being rolled out to users in India. Once your account does receive it, to turn on this feature, just tap ¡®More¡¯ under your name and then head to tap ¡®Lock Profile¡¯ and then tap ¡®Lock Your Profile¡¯ again to confirm.