Facebook has released details of how its Graph Search feature will provide for the online security of young users, giving extra protection for users aged 13 to 17.
The online activity of such users will only be visible to their friends and friends-of-friends, while any content which could allow a user’s age or location to be identified by Graph Search will only be visible to friends and friends-of-friends within the same age group.
“As with all of our products, we designed Graph Search to take into account the unique needs of teens on Facebook,” Facebook said in a statement.
“On Facebook, many things teens are likely to do – such as adding information to their timelines or sharing status updates – can only be shared with a maximum of Friends of Friends,” the statement said. “In addition, for certain searches that could help to identify a young person by age or by their location, results will only show to that person’s Friends, or Friends of Friends who are also between the age of 13-17.”
According to the BBC, Facebook has said that if it has any concerns as to whether a user is younger or older than claimed, it will suspend the account immediately, subject to being provided with proof-of-age in the form of official government identification.
Having launched the service in January, Graph Search has not yet been widely rolled out, and is currently confined to a small number of people using Facebook in US English.
