( CNN ) -- Facebook announced a major overhaul to its privacy controls Wednesday , adding a handful of features while simplifying and clarifying the ways users can already tweak their accounts . The changes , which will roll out over the next few weeks , include a new tool that lets users ask for photos of them to be removed from the site . Also being upgraded is a tool that lets users see what other people can -- and ca n't -- see on their Facebook pages . In addition , users will get more control over the apps they enable on the site by gaining the ability to grant permission for some access requests but deny others . Facebook says the changes are designed to help users better control , and understand , the information they 're sharing on a site with roughly 1 billion accounts . `` We deeply believe that surprises are bad , '' said Sam Lessin , Facebook 's director of product development . `` When users are surprised , no one wins . '' During its rise from dorm-room project to the world 's largest social network , Facebook 's most persistent complaints from users have centered on privacy . Online privacy advocates and even elected officials have objected on occasion to how Facebook handles user data . The company has consistently argued that appropriate privacy tools are in place , although Lessin acknowledged they have n't always been clear or easy to find . `` It was pretty subtle , and we believe it was n't clear enough to users , '' he said . Here 's a look at some of the updates , which Lessin compared to some of the site 's biggest changes in its eight-year history : . A `` Request and Removal '' tool for photos . Facebook users could already click to ask other users to remove tags of them on photos . But the new tool lets them request that photos be removed from the site entirely , and it gives the recipient the ability to do so with a single click . It also gives users the ability to select a reason for the request without having to begin a potentially embarrassing conversation themselves . `` If you do n't want something on Facebook , it should n't be on Facebook , '' Lessin said . `` We need to give you the tools to address that in a straightforward way . '' More specific app permissions . Currently , approving an app on Facebook requires agreeing to a sometimes intimidating list of permissions for the app to do things like access your Friends list and post on your Timeline . New changes , which will roll out first on Apple 's iOS mobile platform , let users give an app basic permissions to start with and then approve other , specific access requests when the app needs them . Not all apps will move to the new model , however . Perhaps most significantly , games wo n't change . Privacy shortcuts . A frequent complaint among privacy advocates has been that the controls that exist on Facebook are hard for the average user to find and understand . `` [ T ] he privacy settings are confounding even for the most experienced digerati , '' danah boyd , a social-media researcher and privacy advocate , wrote for CNN during a 2010 privacy update . `` People should be able to understand Facebook 's changes and have choices available that allow them to make appropriate decisions . '' Under the new changes , there will be a privacy icon on Facebook 's blue toolbar that takes users to the site 's most used privacy tweaks ( `` Who can see my stuff ? '' `` Who can contact me ? '' `` How do I stop someone from bothering me ? '' ) . Help Center content for privacy will also be simplified , with tools that are currently divided between the site 's Privacy and Security sections pulled together in one place . `` Obviously , security and privacy are deeply tied together , '' Lessin said . `` We knew that they were related , and we wanted to call that out . '' Expanded Activity Log . The Activity Log , rolled out last year , lets users manage the information that appears on their Timeline . The updated version includes new navigation tools and will let users more easily see photos , status updates or other posts that may have been removed from Timeline but still appear elsewhere on Facebook . It includes simplified tools to let users `` view as '' other people ( a feature that already exists ) to see whether they 've hidden or displayed posts the way they wanted . Want to keep some Facebook activity hidden from your grandmother or your boss ? This tool is for you . Lessin said new messages will begin appearing on users ' pages , explaining the changes as well as more clearly outlining how existing privacy tools work . He said Facebook will also be killing a little-used `` Who can look up my Timeline by name ? '' tool , saying new features will make doing so easier .
Facebook announces a major privacy - control initiative . Users will get a tool that allows for information to be removed from site . This information will be accessible from the bottom of every page . Changes will start rolling out to users over next few weeks .