May 1, 2019 - Technology

Facebook launches new health support groups

Facebook announced Tuesday that it's creating health support groups where users will be able to ask administrators to post questions on their behalf, Stat News reports.

Our thought bubble, via Axios tech editor Scott Rosenberg: Facebook's "pivot to privacy" has a long way to go to persuade users that the social network is a safe place to share their information.

  • There's plenty of skepticism as to whether this actually alleviates privacy concerns surrounding sharing sensitive health information online.
  • The company will need to recapture people's trust in many smaller ways before they are likely to feel more comfortable about sharing health info, even with a promise of anonymity.

Details: "There are a lot of people with sensitive questions [who] are not comfortable asking a question in a group where they have to tie their identity to that question," said Hema Budaraju, the product management director for health at Facebook.

  • While members of the new group won't be able to see who posted a question, the administrator will be able to see who made the request.

Go deeper: What Facebook knows about you

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