Facebook renames ‘secret’ groups to ‘private and hidden in search’

Facebook has renamed the settings for groups on its social network. Until now groups could be ‘secret’ or ‘private’, from now on they will be called ‘private and hidden in search’ and ‘private and visible in search’.

The change should give users and group administrators more clarity, the social network says. Especially the difference between ‘secret’ and ‘closed’ would now cause confusion. Instead of three group settings, there are now two. The second option, ‘private’, has the option to hide or unhide a group in the search function of the social network.

Facebook emphasizes that the same rules apply to private groups as to public groups. A combination of software and people reviews and reviews posts people report to see if they meet the guidelines. Admins also have a dashboard that shows whether and how many posts have been removed from members. The changes will go into effect for group admins in the coming weeks, after which members will see the new names in the weeks after.