By Dan Satherley
Still unafraid of alienating its user base, Facebook has revealed new changes to the site it promises will "change the way you use Facebook and the web".
CEO Mark Zuckerberg, in his first public appearance since the release of film The Social Network, showed off the site's new features at a gathering held at Facebook's Palo Alto headquarters.
Firstly, there's the new 'Download Your Information' tool, which does exactly what it says – it allows users to download everything they have ever posted to the site – including photos, wall posts, status updates – everything.
It's made to be simple – you start the process, then when it's ready, Facebook allows you to download it all in a single zip file.
From now it will also be easier to track how often you access installed applications, and delete them.
Perhaps the biggest addition to the site will be its new Groups function, however.
Basically, users will now be able to make posts, status updates and upload pictures, and only let specific people see them – which takes its much-maligned privacy settings a step further.
"You have these different social circles and you want to interact with them in different groups, ways, etc," Zuckerberg said.
"Some are work friends, some are family, etc. It's been easy so far to share with everybody publicly or sharing with just friends privately, but not share with a small group of people.
"Rather than asking all of you to classify how you know all of your friends, or programming machines to guess which sets of people are likely cohorts, we're offering something that's as simple as inviting your best friends over for dinner.
It differs from the current way Facebook Groups and Lists work.
"Every friend has control over a shared space," says Justin Schafer, Groups product manager.
"Everyone can add mutual friends to the group. Group chat is also being introduced, so you can chat with groups of friends. Groups work like mailing lists — you can send and receive email from your group and communicate with work friends or personal friends."
Relying on people to create their own groups won't work according to the company, as only 5 percent of people ever used its old Lists function. Nor will using algorithms, as a single mistake – including your boss in a group where you post pics of that party you were at the night before calling in sick, for example – could be devastating.
Zuckerberg says everyone in the group will be able to see who added new people to the group, so if a mistake is made, you know who to blame.
The final new feature coming to Facebook is Group Chat, which again, does what it says, allowing multiple people to take part in live chats, similar to standalone IM programs like MSN/Live Messenger.
"We've heard loud and clear that you want more control over what you share on Facebook - to manage exactly who sees it and to understand exactly where it goes," Zuckerberg said.
"With this new groups experience, and the other tools we're rolling out today, we're taking a few important steps forward towards giving you precise controls."
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