Facebook today announced (officially) a new chat function and a bunch of features that will enhance privacy controls throughout the site. The video above demonstrates the features of the new widely rumored chat client. While it is initially a bit lacking, Facebook has expressed intentions to expand the service quickly. It’s believed that over time, it will grow to support Jabber and outside protocols like AIM. Additionally, Platformers will not yet be able to utilize chat through the API, but again, that should be coming.

The new privacy features essentially give users modular control over the information they want to keep private. This will make it easier to block data from certain individuals (like parents), while keeping it available for friends.

These new privacy controls will roll out tomorrow morning, while Facebook Chat will be available in the next few weeks.

Facebook to launch new privacy controls; confirms chat is coming [TechCrunch]

Technorati Tags: facebook, facebook platform, facebook chat, privacy controls, security

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