After Beacon 'Screw Up' Facebook Ups Privacy

Facebook is launching a series of new privacy features today, allowing users to better pinpoint who can see which parts of their information, PC World reports. Privacy has been a watchword at Facebook ever since the PR disaster that was the Beacon advertising platform, which tracked users online. “With Beacon, we just screwed it up,” one VP admitted.

A new privacy interface will let users change their settings from anywhere on the site, and a new “friends of friends” option will allow users to comfortably expand their visibility. The site is also launching a new online chat, which could soon be integrated into other chat clients. “Our vision is not to make Facebook an island,”  the VP said. (More Facebook stories.)