Facebook has decided to share its privacy principles for the first time, as it begins an education campaign aimed at helping users gain an understanding of how the platform uses and manages their data.

The social network has introduced a series of educational videos in the news feed to help people gain knowledge about how they can control what information Facebook can use to show them ads, how they can review and delete old posts, and what it means to delete their account. This will also see the launch of a new privacy centre, featuring all privacy settings in one place.

“You have many ways to control your data on Facebook,” said Erin Egan, chief privacy officer at Facebook, in a post. “This includes tools to make sure you share only what you want with the people you want to see it. But privacy controls are only powerful if you know how to find and use them.”

In addition, Facebook will begin hosting data protection workshops with small and medium businesses throughout this year, starting in Europe with an eye on the upcoming implementation of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).

To accompany its teachings, Facebook has revealed what its core principles are regarding the protection of its users’ data.

According to the company, it bases its data protection on giving the user control of their privacy and helping them understand how their data is used. It says it focuses on designing privacy into products right from the off, working hard to keep this information secure, constantly improving, and taking full accountability.

“Facebook was built to bring people closer together,” said Egan. “We help you connect with friends and family, discover local events and find groups to join. We recognise that people use Facebook to connect, but not everyone wants to share everything with everyone – including with us. It’s important that you have choices when it comes to how your data is used.”