Facebook has published its privacy principles for the first time and will roll out educational videos to help users control who has access to their information.

As the company prepares for the impact of new European Union data protection laws, it announced on Monday that users will be shown how to manage the data that Facebook uses to show them ads, how to delete old posts, and what happens to the data when they delete their account.

Facebook, which has more than two billion users worldwide, said it had never before published the principles, which are its rules on how the company handles users’ information.

The announcements on Monday by Erin Egan, chief privacy officer at Facebook, are a sign of its efforts to get ready before the European Union’s general data protection regulation (GDPR) enters into force on 25 May, marking the biggest overhaul of personal data privacy rules since the birth of the internet.

Under GDPR, companies will be required to report data breaches within 72 hours, as well as to allow customers to export their data and delete it.

Facebook’s privacy principles, which are separate from the user terms and conditions that are agreed when someone opens an account, range from giving users control of their privacy, to building privacy features into Facebook products from the outset, to users owning the information they share.

“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,” Egan wrote in a blog post.

Also among the company’s privacy principles will be help for users to understand how their data is used, keeping that information secure, constantly improving new controls, and being accountable to regulators.

“We put products through rigorous data security testing. We also meet with regulators, legislators and privacy experts around the world to get input on our data practices and policies,” the blog post said.

The company’s chief operating officer, Sheryl Sandberg, announced last week that Facebook would be creating a new privacy centre which would put the social network’s settings in one place.

The GDPR drastically increases the level of fines for companies found to be in breach of data protection law, potentially rising as high as 4% of global annual turnover or €20m, whichever is higher.

Facebook has faced probes from EU regulators over its use of user data and tracking of online activities. As of Monday, users will be reminded by their news feeds to take a “privacy checkup”, Egan wrote in the blog, to ensure they are comfortable about what data they are sharing, and with whom.