In accordance with the recommendations of the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada, which conducted an appraisal of the Facebook's privacy policies and controls, the social networking site intends overhauling its privacy features over the next one-year span.

In a Thursday statement, Facebook said that along with introducing certain changes that would revamp the process of sharing of personal information with third-party applications, it will also expand the level of information it provides to the users about its privacy features, and introduce technical changes that would result in stricter privacy controls.

Some other improvements that Facebook intends making include retrofitting its privacy terms to clarify its stance of collecting users' personal data; making a clearer distinction between deactivation of a Facebook account and its deletion; and authorizing users to have their Facebook profiles "memorialized" after death.

Meanwhile, commenting on the Facebook decision to introduce pertinent changes in its privacy policy, Canada's Privacy Commissioner Jennifer Stoddart said the changes had been recommended because the privacy agency's biggest concern was that the application developers "virtually unrestricted access to Facebook users' personal information."

Saying that the changes were "extremely important," Stoddart added: "We're very pleased Facebook has been responsive to our recommendations. People will be able to enjoy the benefits of social networking without giving up control of their personal information."