Facebook launches new tool to help users hide old posts
Facebook has today launched a new tool designed to help users hide old posts that could harm their job prospects.
The new privacy tool, labelled Manage Activity, will allow Facebook users to either hide certain posts from public view and store them in an archive or remove them from the site completely.
“Whether you’re entering the job market after college or moving on from an old relationship, we know things change in people’s lives, and 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 a blog post.
The move reflects the growing number of people entering the workforce who have been active on social media from a very young age.
The tool allows users to hide potentially embarrassing or offensive posts that could be held against them.
A number of high-profile celebrities including rapper Stormzy and Youtuber Zoella have been criticised for old social media posts that have resurfaced online.
In 2018 controversial journalist Toby Young was forced to step down from his role on the board of the Office for Students after critics pointed to a string of offensive tweets that were widely denounced as misogynistic.
Jobseekers have also been encouraged to ensure that their social media activity would not cause issues with prospective employers.
But while Facebook is making it easier for users to clean up their own online presence, it has sparked controversy for refusing to make its own interventions.
Facebook boss Mark Zuckerberg has been slammed by civil rights leaders and some of his own employees for failing to take down a post by US President Donald Trump that has been widely condemned as inciting violence.
The same post, which referred to protests following the killing of George Floyd in police custody last week, was hidden by rival platform Twitter.
Facebook’s Manage Activity feature will allow users to view and manage their posts in bulk, while posts can be filtered by name and date range.
The tool will initially launch on the iOS and Android Facebook apps before being rolled out to desktop.