Facebook testing new tool to catch impostors pretending to be you!

If you’re a fan of the social media platform that comes in dark blue, then chances are you are also aware of some of its pitfalls. People pretending to be you creating mischief after befriending your friends is a common harassment that has become popular in recent times.

Users have been raising a big hue and cry for some time and it seems Facebook has finally decided to address the concerns.

The social media behemoth is working on a new tool to help automatically alert users if it detects another person impersonating your account by using your name and profile photo.

As and when Facebook detects another user impersonating you, it will send an alert notifying you about the profile. You’ll then be prompted to identify if the profile in question is impersonating you by using your personal information, or if it belongs to someone else who is not impersonating you.

Though the notification process is automated, profiles flagged as impersonations are manually reviewed by Facebook's team.

The feature, which the company began testing last November, is now live in about 75% of the world and Facebook plans to expand its availability in the near future.

While impersonation isn't necessarily a widespread problem on Facebook, it is a source of harassment on the platform, despite the company's longstanding policy against it.

Impersonation alerts are part of ongoing efforts to make women around the world feel more safe using Facebook.

The company has been hosting roundtable discussions around the world with users, activists, NGOs and other groups to gather feedback on how the platform can better address issues around privacy and safety.

Facebook is also testing two other safety features as a result of the talks — new ways of reporting non-consensual intimate images and a photo checkup feature.

Courtesy: mashable.com