Facebook this week announced the roll-out of a redesigned security settings page, meant to make it easier for users to understand the options provided to them.
As part of the redesign, the social networking platform focused on making important settings easily identifiable and more visible to all users. The changes are based on the results of a research the company recently conducted in an effort to better understand how people use security settings on Facebook, Heidi Shin, product manager on the Protect and Care team, explains.
Users accessing Facebook’s security settings page will find items such as two-factor authentication and Trusted Contacts at the top, in a recommended section. The featured recommendations are tailored according to each person’s needs and similar options are grouped into modules for simplified layout and ease of use.
Another important change Facebook made to its security settings was to bring the names of different options in line with those used by other online services. Thus, two-factor authentication is now visible under this name, and not “login approvals,” as before.
“After finding in our research that ‘two-factor authentication’ was the most recognized term, we adjusted the name. By focusing on clarity, we’re making it easier for people to find and enable these features on Facebook as well as other online services,” Shin notes.
Additionally, Facebook decided to completely redesign the “Where you're logged in” module, which now features a simpler format, clearly showing the device, location, and login date and time for each place a user’s logged in.
“We also looked closely at features that people had clicked on but ultimately decided not to enable. We found that it was usually the product description — not the name itself — that was discouraging people from completing the action,” Shin explains.
Users looking to improve their security on the social platform can do so by clicking the arrow in the top right corner of the screen, selecting Settings, and then clicking Security + Login on the left-hand side to access the redesigned page.