Facebook is rolling out new tools that will give its users in India more control over their profile picture. A pilot test now allows Facebook users in India to control who can download and share their profile pictures.
As part of this effort, Facebook is adding an optional feature called profile picture guard. Once turned On, other people won't be able to download, share or send your profile picture in a message. Facebook will also prevent users from taking a screenshot of your profile picture on Android. The guarded profile pictures will be indicated with a blue border and shield as a mark of protection.
Facebook says these tools have been developed in partnership with Indian safety organisations like Centre for Social Research, Learning Links Foundation, Breakthrough and Youth Ki Awaaz and will give users more control over their experience. The move is primarily aimed to safeguard users and deter misuse on its platform.
"In India, we’ve heard that people want more control over their profile pictures, and we’ve been working over the past year to understand how we can help," Facebook Product Manager Aarati Soman wrote in a blog post.
Facebook is also introducing new ways to easily add designs to their profile pictures. Facebook claims that the addition of design has helped deter misuse on its platform. Based on this pilot, the social media giant plans to roll out the feature to other countries soon.