PALO ALTO, Calif. - Facebook is introducing tools for users to copy all the personal information they've posted on the social network, and better separate their online connections into different groups.
"We've built an easy way to quickly download to your computer everything you've ever posted on Facebook and all your correspondences with friends: your messages, Wall posts, photos, status updates and profile information," Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg wrote in a message to users.
"If you want a copy of the information you've put on Facebook for any reason, you can click a link and easily get a copy of all of it in a single download. To protect your information, this feature is only available after confirming your password and answering appropriate security questions."
Another new feature helps users group their contacts so messages and content can be shared in a better way.
"Facebook has made it easy to share with all of your friends or with everyone, but there hasn't been a simple way to create and maintain a space for sharing with the small communities of people in your life, like your roommates, classmates, co-workers and family," Zuckerberg wrote in describing the new option.
"It's a simple way to stay up to date with small groups of your friends and to share things with only them in a private space. The default setting is closed, which means only members see what's going on in a group."
The new features will start rolling out to Facebook's more than 500 million worldwide users Wednesday.
Zuckerberg unveiled the changes during a news conference that marked his first public appearance since last Friday's debut of "The Social Network," a movie tracing Facebook's origins and evolution. The movie depicts Zuckerberg as an isolated, treacherous genius.
Zuckerberg told reporters he wouldn't discuss the critically acclaimed film, which has drawn large audiences so far. He has previously scoffed at the movie as a gross exaggeration of his six-year-old company's history.
