Facebook Inc. isn’t giving up on e-commerce.
That makes sense given the social network announced in July it was testing a Buy button that lets the social network’s desktop and mobile users click the button on ads and page posts to purchase a product directly from a business without leaving Facebook. The social network says it is also working on ways to make transactions more convenient and secure.
That’s according to the latest revision to its data privacy policy. Facebook says the new policy, which, at about 2,700 words, is significantly shorter than its previous roughly 9,000-word privacy document, aims to make it easier for users to understand how the social network gathers and uses the information it collects about users. And e-commerce is one area in which the social network says it is analyzing its users’ behaviors.
“If you use our services for purchases or financial transactions (like when you buy something on Facebook, make a purchase in a game, or make a donation), we collect information about the purchase or transaction,” Facebook says. “This includes your payment information, such as your credit or debit card number and other card information, and other account and authentication information, as well as billing, shipping and contact details.”
The statement indicates that Facebook remains focused on cracking the e-commerce puzzle—even though its efforts to date have largely fallen flat. For example, the social network in 2012 launched the Facebook Gifts service, which let shoppers buy physical gifts for their friends. However, the social network shuttered the program after less than a year because of consumers’ lack of interest in buying their friends tangible gifts via the social network. (Consumers can still buy gift cards on the social network.)
The new privacy policy also represents a change in how Facebook leverages information about its users’ location.
“We’re working on ways to show you the most relevant information based on where you are and what your friends are up to,” Facebook writes in a blog post explaining the changes. “For example, in the future, if you decide to share where you are, you might see menus from restaurants nearby or updates from friends in the area.”
Finally, the revised policy gives users better control over the ads a user sees on the platform across devices. That is, when a user opts out of seeing targeted ads on one device, that opt-out will carry over across other devices. That wasn’t necessarily the case with the social network’s prior policy.
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