Facebook just launched a new tool that makes it easier than ever to delete your embarrassing old posts and photos — here's how to use it

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Facebook just launched a new tool that makes it easier than ever to delete your embarrassing old posts and photos — here's how to use it
  • Facebook's new Manage Activity tool allows you to delete old Facebook posts in batches instead of simply one by one.
  • You can delete old photos, remove tags, and hide posts from your timeline.
  • You can't delete a post created by another Facebook user — you'll have to ask them privately to remove it.
  • The tool is another way that users can use to maintain privacy on the social platform.

You can now wipe out all of your embarrassing photos on Facebook in bulk instead of just one by one.

On Tuesday, the social networking giant unveiled a new function, Manage Activity, that allows you to delete or hide multiple old Facebook posts from your timeline. According to the Washington Post, Facebook said the new tool is in part a result of feedback from privacy advocates.

It's also a product of the long time period so many users have spent on the platform over the years, amassing streams of perhaps awkward adolescent photos and old relationship posts. Some users may find it beneficial to delete some old content for professional purposes or for privacy reasons.

The tool is only rolling out on the Facebook mobile app for now, with functionality planned for the desktop eventually.

Here's how to use it.

Read the original article on Business Insider
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Go to your profile page, and scroll down to where you would create a new post. Click the button that says "Manage Posts."

Go to your profile page, and scroll down to where you would create a new post. Click the button that says "Manage Posts."
The Manage Activity tool. Facebook/Business Insider

This is what it will look like. Click the icon in the upper-right corner.

This is what it will look like. Click the icon in the upper-right corner.
The Manage Activity tool. Facebook/Business Insider
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You can filter posts by date, if it was posted by you or someone else, and by privacy setting. There's also a toggle to filter posts that you're tagged in.

You can filter posts by date, if it was posted by you or someone else, and by privacy setting. There's also a toggle to filter posts that you're tagged in.
The Manage Activity tool. Facebook/Business Insider

I started off by setting the range to 2015, just to see what popped up.

I started off by setting the range to 2015, just to see what popped up.
The Manage Activity tool. Facebook/Business Insider

The selection included a birthday post from June of that year.

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But then I came across a throwback photo that my mom posted in January of that year showing me in a Halloween costume when I was 11 years old.

But then I came across a throwback photo that my mom posted in January of that year showing me in a Halloween costume when I was 11 years old.
The Manage Activity tool. Facebook/Business Insider

If you want to get rid of a post or photo that was posted by someone else on Facebook, you can't delete it yourself. You'll have to ask them privately to remove it.

You can't remove a photo that others have posted, but you can hide it from your timeline or remove the tag.

You can't remove a photo that others have posted, but you can hide it from your timeline or remove the tag.
The Manage Activity tool. Facebook/Business Insider

The tool should also allow a function to archive posts, but we didn't come across an option to do so. The Manage Activity function is still rolling out, according to Recode.

Eventually, the archived posts will be visible to you alone but won't be removed from Facebook. When you delete a post, it will remain in a trash bin for 30 days before disappearing, according to the Post.

You can also download all of your Facebook data in one file.

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