PrivacyWatch checks Facebook policy so you don't have to

A new, low-cost service keeps tabs on Facebook's privacy policy, and lets you know when it changes.

Facebook's Data Use Policy is more than 7000 words long, making it a daunting challenge to stay on top of how the company manages the data you share with it. Online privacy company Abine wants to simplify that task for you, with its new PrivacyWatch service.

For US$1.99 per month, PrivacyWatch will warn you whenever Facebook changes its policy. The service will also recommend changes on how to keep your information private, in accordance with any policy changes. The service comes days before Facebook's initial public offering (IPO) is expected.

"PrivacyWatch says, 'Hey, this specific thing has changed, here's what we believe the implications could be for your privacy and personal data, and here are easy-to-follow steps for exactly how to mitigate that'," wrote Sarah Downey, online privacy analyst at Abine, in an instant-message conversation with CNET.

The service sends you a bi-weekly email with Facebook privacy tips, so it's useful even when there haven't been any policy changes. Downey said that 85 per cent of Facebook's revenue, in 2011, came from advertising. "That requires them to collect more usable personal information and make that information available to advertisers," she wrote. Abine has created a Facebook privacy policy infographic, which tracks the history of the company's privacy policies (reproduced below). It has also made a "Facebook Val-You calculator", which estimates the worth of your personal data for Facebook.

Downey also noted that 5 per cent of each new subscription, between now and 1 June, will be donated to the National Network for Domestic Violence.

Via CNET