Facebook pop-up cafes will teach users about their privacy settings

Free coffee and a privacy check-up.
By Marcus Gilmer  on 
Facebook pop-up cafes will teach users about their privacy settings
"Our bad about all those privacy breaches, have a coffee!" Credit: Sean Gallup / Getty Images

After years of selling your data, allowing Russians and fake news to run rampant on its platform, and violating just about every privacy promise it's made, Facebook wants to give you some coffee and a little help.

According to the Evening Standard, the social media behemoth is getting all trendy and opening five "pop-up cafes" in the United Kingdom between Aug. 28 and Sept. 5. They'll serve free coffee and are meant to help UK users set up their privacy settings.

The first pop-ups will be in London, Aug. 28-29, at The Attendant coffee bar on Great Eastern Street and at Takk at 6 Tariff Street.

Facebook says it's opening the cafes, according to the Standard, because a recent poll showed over a quarter of UK users (27 percent) didn't know how to properly customize their privacy settings.

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Here's what one of the Facebook pop-up cafes will look like, joy and benevolence included! Credit: Facebook

In a press release sent to Mashable in response to a request for comment, Steve Hatch, VP, Facebook Northern Europe, is quoted as saying, “It’s normal to worry about who can see the things you share on social media, but not everyone knows what they can do about it. That’s why we have made customizing your privacy settings on Facebook quick and easy."

In case you forgot, some recent privacy issues Facebook has dealt with include:

So, yeah, I think that warrants a few free damn lattes.

The press release also says Facebook workers will be on hand to help users tailor privacy settings for "how much information is seen by who, as well as seeing which apps and websites you’ve got connected to Facebook."

There aren't currently plans for a pop-up extravaganza in the U.S. as of now.

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Marcus Gilmer

Marcus Gilmer is Mashable's Assistant Real-Times News Editor on the West Coast, reporting on breaking news from his location in San Francisco. An Alabama native, Marcus earned his BA from Birmingham-Southern College and his MFA in Communications from the University of New Orleans. Marcus has previously worked for Chicagoist, The A.V. Club, the Chicago Sun-Times and the San Francisco Chronicle.


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