Scandal makes Facebook revamp its privacy settings

According to the social media giant’s statement on its blog, an overhaul of its privacy tools will make it easier for people to find and edit the personal information the company possesses. They follow intense criticism of the firm after it emerged that data of about 50 million users had been harvested and passed on to a political consultancy named Cambridge Analytica.

However, the company says the revamp was already planned ahead of the scandal in order to comply with new EU rules. The announcement coincides with a fresh dispute with New Zealand's privacy watchdog, which has accused Facebook of being in breach of local laws.

Facebook's chief privacy officer Erin Egan stated, “We've heard loud and clear that privacy settings and other important tools are too hard to find, and that we must do more to keep people informed.”

Snapchat to let users control third-party apps

Snapchat’s parent company, Snap, is reportedly working on a new feature that will let users control which third-party apps will have access to their Snapchat accounts. It is reported that the latest beta version of Snapchat features a new tab in the settings screen called “Connected Apps.” The screen simply has text that reads: “These apps are connected to your Snapchat account. Choose an app to control what it has access to.”

The timing is particularly bad, given that Facebook is facing public outrage over the company’s data collection policies. Snapchat’s new settings screen is most likely similar to those found on Facebook, Google, and Twitter, where users can control third-party access.