1) Customize who can view what on your page. The privacy settings of
your Facebook account allow you to customize a fair amount when it comes
to who can see what on your page. Setting wall posts, pictures from
others and other items so that only friends or specific people can see
them is a great way to improve your privacy.
2) Understand what
information can be viewed by the public. While you can customize how
much of your profile is visible to strangers, a few bits of info are
always available for public review. This includes your profile picture,
name, fan pages and networks. As such, being cautious with these
specific profile features may help guard your privacy.
3) Hide
your profile from Web searches. Facebook allows you to block your
profile from showing up in search engine results. This can be toggled on
and off by finding the "Search" section in the "Settings" of your
account.
4) Get rid of third-party applications. Adding an app to
your profile allows that app to access information you post in your
profile. To limit the information that is pulled from your page, delete
all those one-time quiz apps and any apps you don't use anymore.
5) Be selective of who you add as a friend. Your Facebook page is
supposed to be a place where you can be yourself and interact with
friends. If a co-worker or employer asks to be your friend on Facebook,
it may behoove you to politely decline. If you wish, you may point your
business associates to a LinkedIn account.
6) Ask friends to
consider your privacy when posting pictures and other info. While you
can limit what you post and say on Facebook, pictures and wall posts
from friends can often be out of your control. Make it known to your
friends if there is any type of material you would prefer not be posted
to Facebook.
7) Be aware of who is in your networks. Members of
school and employer networks may have the same level of access to your
profile as your friends. As such you might consider cleaning up your
networks to limit those who can see your whole profile. You can also
adjust your settings to limit visibility of non-friends who are in your
networks.
8) Customize visible profile information. Basic info
about yourself, such as birthday and employer, may seem innocuous to
you, but that may not always be the case. For example, birthdays are
often a security question asked by credit card companies to validate
identity. As such, it may be a good idea to limit what information is
visible on your profile.
9) Opt out of Facebook ads. By default,
Facebook is authorized to use your names, actions and likeness in ads
used within your Facebook network of friends. If you wish, you can opt
out of this by visiting the Facebook Ads tab in the Privacy Settings
section of your page.
10) Hide your list of friends from the
public. At one time, your list of friends was considered public record
by Facebook. However, concerns about how some friendships might invade
privacy have resulted in the ability to hide your list of friends so it
doesn't show up on your profile. |
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