Facebook has unveiled some new safety tools that include increased security when signing in and surfing the site as well as additional ways to report bullying on Facebook.
Last month, in conjunction with the White House Conference on Bullying Prevention, Facebook announced plans for a reporting system that would let users to notify someone they trust—directly through Facebook—if they were the victim of bullying or online harrassment.
This "social reporting" tool was initially enabled for photos and Wall posts, but "the impact has been encouraging, and we're now expanding social reporting to other major sections of Facebook, including Profiles, Pages and Groups," Facebook said in a blog post.
"Safety and child psychology experts tell us that online issues are frequently a reflection of what is happening offline," wrote Arturo Bejar, a director of engineering at Facebook. "By encouraging people to seek help from friends, we hope that many of these situations can be resolved face to face."
Also at the White House conference, Facebook said it would expand its existing safety resources with content for families. Starting today, Facebook's revamped Family Safety Center is now available, with articles and videos for parents and teens about online safety and privacy. In the next few weeks, Facebook will also release a downloadable guide for teachers, written by safety experts Linda Fogg Phillips, B.J. Fogg and Derek Baird.
Facebook will also implement two security options intended to keep your account secure. There is now the option for two-factor authentication, which—when turned on—requires users to enter a code anytime they log in to Facebook from a new device.
"This additional security helps confirm that it's really you trying to log in," Bejar wrote.
The social-networking site has also expanded its encryption options. In January, Facebook introduced the option to encrypt your Facebook session at all times, known as HTTPS. Going forward, "if you start using a non-HTTPS application on Facebook, we automatically switch your session back to HTTPS when you're finished," Bejar said.
In other White House news, meanwhile, Facebook staff is currently prepping for a Wednesday town hall with President Obama at Facebook headquarters in Palo Alto. The event kicks off at 4:45pm Eastern tomorrow and will also feature an appearance from Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg. It will be live-streamed via Livestream.com and the White House Facebook page.