Facebook simplifies privacy settings. Social network Facebook has said it will offer a one-stop shop for privacy settings in response to user concerns.Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg admitted the settings had "gotten complex" for users.

It follows a storm of protest from users over a series of changes on the site that left its members unsure about how public their information had become.

"We needed to simplify controls," he told a press conference.

"We want people to be able to share information in the way that they want," he told BBC News.

"Our goal is not to make your information more private or more open."

The new system will offer users one privacy page with a list of all their applications and a choice of three settings for each.

The redesigned privacy page allows users to see all their information in one grid and apply privacy settings to each. Facebook will suggest defaults.

As with the changes made in December, users will be able to choose to share their applications with just friends, friends of friends or everyone.

"We've focused on three things: a single control for your content, more powerful controls for your basic information and an easy control to turn off all applications," said Mark Zuckerberg, speaking at Facebook's Palo Alto headquarters.

People who want more "granular control" will still be able to access existing settings.

Facebook has also reduced the amount of information that is visible to everyone. People will now be able to control who sees their interest pages and friends lists.

Users will also be able to turn off applications to ensure no information is shared without consent.

One of the things users found complicated was the need to apply new settings to every new feature introduced on the site.

From today, whatever setting users choose for "Sharing on Facebook" will now automatically be applied to any new products.

Initial reactions to the changes questioned whether Facebook had gone far enough.

Read more: bbc