Facebook has managed to get deeper and deeper into our lives with its never-ending list of features that enable prying eyes to easily get to our profiles.
As a result, it has been a growing challenge for the millions who use the platform to connect with friends and family when it comes to managing their privacy, especially because these settings are always changing. While Facebook has also realized the growing need for privacy, the granular control it has offered the users with respect to the posts that appear in their feeds as well as the personal data used to serve ads have even made this process more cumbersome.
However, to help you out, we have narrowed down up to 5 easy steps that you can use to ensure that you lock down your Facebook account to the best of your possible level.
Check out what people see in your profile
Facebook allows the users to create their profiles when they join the platform. This is basically what other people see when they search for you on the platform. To check out this, open your profile page and click on the 3 dots located at the lower right corner of the cover photo. Follow this by selecting “View as” in the menu that opens up.
You will be redirected to a page where you can view your profile the way strangers see it. Strangers can see certain pieces of personal info, among them the cover photo, profile photo and your name; however, you can restrict who views other personal info on your profile.
Deciding who views your posts
When you scroll down your profile page in the above view, you will be able to see the posts being viewed by strangers. You may have realized that whenever you make a Facebook post, you are given a chance to choose which type of audience you want to share the post with.
On the left side of the Post button is a box with details of who will see the post you want to make. Clicking on the box will reveal a drop down menu from which you can choose who can view the post; either “Only Me”, “Friends” or “Public”. It is also possible to share the content with people in your current location or even create custom lists for sharing posts with. The option you select will be set as the default option.
In case it happens that you’ve made so many Public posts in the past, Facebook has a feature that can turn these posts into private. Go to the app’s settings by clicking on the down-facing arrow at the top right corner. Find the privacy option and then select “Limit Past Posts” under the “Who can see my stuff?” option.
Restrict apps that post on your behalf
There are certain apps that will ask for permissions to post on Facebook on behalf of the user. These apps usually access your personal data in a bid to quickly log you in. The good thing is that Facebook has a way of dealing with such intrusive applications.
Just go to Facebook’s settings page and select “Apps”. A list of all Facebook-authenticated apps will show up. When you click on any, a list of all the information the app collects from your personal data will be provided and from here, you can choose to discard the app or deny it access to your personal data. It is also possible to stop apps from sending you notifications on Facebook from the same page.
Hide your profile from search engines
Google and search engines can be used to trace your Facebook profile. This was enabled in 2013 in order to make it easier for people to find each other on the site. The good thing is that you can prevent this and make it hard for you to be found.
On the same Privacy Settings, select “No” when asked whether you want search engines outside Facebook to find you. It is also possible to select who gets to send you friend requests, for instance, only friends of friends or anyone.
Block stubborn users
Facebook allows you to get rid of that one person who annoys you by simply blocking him or her. Go to the Settings menu and select “Blocking”. Enter the name of the person you want to block and click on “Block”. The list of blocked users appears just below the text box where you can easily unblock someone by clicking on the “Unblock” button.
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