Facebook Gives Users Privacy Check-Up

May 22, 2014— -- Facebook announced today that its 1.28 billion users will be getting a privacy tune-up in the coming weeks.

An expanded privacy checkup tool featuring a friendly blue dinosaur will guide people through steps to review who can see their posts, which apps they use and who has access to information on their profile, such as photos, birthdays and phone numbers.

The changes are expected to help users better understand who can see their information and prevent "over-sharing" to a public audience.

Users will receive a reminder when a post is set to be shared with a public audience to make sure they are aware of its reach.

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"We want to do all we can to put power and control in people’s hands," the social networking giant wrote in a Facebook post. "This new tool is designed to help people make sure they are sharing with just the audience they want. Everything about how privacy works on Facebook remains the same."

Newbies to Facebook will also be treated differently, the company said. Their first posts will be set to "friends" only, whereas for many users, it was previously set to "public."