Facebook Takes Steps To Improve Data Portability

Facebook Data Portability

Facebook on Monday (Aug. 9) announced several updates to its Transfer Your Information (TYI) data portability tool that will make it easier for users to transfer a copy of their data from the social media platform to other services, including Photobucket, Google Calendar and the new Facebook Events.

    Get the Full Story

    Complete the form to unlock this article and enjoy unlimited free access to all PYMNTS content — no additional logins required.

    yesSubscribe to our daily newsletter, PYMNTS Today.

    By completing this form, you agree to receive marketing communications from PYMNTS and to the sharing of your information with our sponsor, if applicable, in accordance with our Privacy Policy and Terms and Conditions.

    According to the announcement, Facebook’s updates will provide “a completely rebuilt experience that’s simpler and more intuitive,” enabling users to easily determine where they can export their data and which data types can be exported. It will also offer “greater transparency around the status of each transfer, including making it easier to retry certain transfers.”

    Additionally, the enhancements will give users the ability to run multiple data transfers at once, when exporting to the same destination. It will also include filters to make it easy to select only specific pieces of data to transfer.

    You may also like: Facebook Pay Available Off Facebook, Starting With Shopify In August

    Facebook said in the announcement that it plans to continue providing users with “secure data portability features they can trust,” and that it is “working with developers to expand the selection of data types and destinations we support.”

    The company also called for more government regulations to clarify how data must be protected both during and after it is transferred.

    Advertisement: Scroll to Continue

    “In the meantime, we’ll keep contributing to the open-source Data Transfer Project, supporting innovation in data portability across the industry and pushing the technology forward,” the company said in its announcement of the TYI updates.

    Related news: Facebook Backs Data Portability Law

    Last year, Facebook advocated for the ACCESS Act, a law that simplifies the process of moving videos and pictures to a competing site.

    Under the ACCESS Act, online platforms with a certain number of users and annual sales deemed by the Department of Justice (DOJ) or the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to be “covered platforms” are required to maintain their interfaces in a manner that is interoperable with competing businesses and enables user data to be portable.

    Facebook first let American and Canadian users move their videos and pictures to Google Photos in April 2020.