When it comes to Facebook, privacy seems to be an oxymoron. There are many facets of Facebook which can disrupt your ability to maintain your privacy or give you the illusion that you can’t have any privacy on Facebook. Rest assured that it is something you can, and should, maintain.
Last week, at the Greater Kingston Chamber of Commerce’s Annual General Meeting, I was fortunate to hear a speech given by Katherine Thompson, of the Canadian Advanced Technology Alliance (CATA Alliance). She discussed the importance of education and action regarding cyber security, as well as potential breaches of personal privacy.
Curious about what you’re sharing publicly on Facebook? While Facebook has added additional tools and features to make protecting your personal privacy easier, the task can still be daunting for some.
In this blog I will provide you with quick tips to confirm what content you’re sharing with the world, as well as information about the main privacy settings.
Firstly, it’s important to know how much of your personal information you’re sharing publicly. This statement typically makes most people nervous because they’re not confident about what and how much they are sharing. Are you sharing friend lists? Photos? Videos? Likes? Events?
Check to See What You’re Sharing
1-Navigate to your Facebook Timeline
2-Click the three dots (…) in the bottom-right of the cover photo
3-Click “View As…”
3-Facebook will refresh your Timeline. The new view will be what the public can view when they visit your profile (e.g. non-friends).
4-Take a moment to evaluate posts, photos, photo albums, friends, Likes, and the About section. Make note of anything you’d like to be made private.
Update Privacy Settings
Many people assume that because it’s “their” Facebook, that only they and their friends can view the content. This is not true. Each piece of information that you share, or include on your profile comes along with its own set of privacy settings, which includes photos, photo albums, friend lists, posts, and personal information.
Globe: The globe icon indicates that the information, photo, or personal details are publicly available to anyone who visits your profile, including non-friends.
Silhouette: While there are variations of this icon, this specific icon indicates that the information is only available to your friends (e.g. people who you have approved).
Lock: This is the most private setting. This icon indicates that the information is only available to yourself. Many people use this for phone numbers, emails, or birthdays. I recommend using this setting for your friend list.
While this is only a quick look at Facebook Timeline privacy settings, it can help you get on the right path.
Curious about what information you have made available on Facebook? This short and informative tutorial will explain a quick trick to check your personal Facebook privacy settings. Enjoy!
A few days ago Facebook released new easy-to-use (and find!) privacy settings. While the privacy settings have not changed significantly for users, the settings are categorized into three simple questions: Who can see my stuff? Who can contact me? How do I stop someone from bothering me? It seems as though Facebook has listened to user’s commonly asked questions to develop this new update.
Let’s go over Facebook’s new privacy settings:
1. Who Can See My Stuff?
This is the most common question I am asked when working with clients. Users want to be able to know what photos, posts, and information is visible to certain friends and the public. This new privacy setting allows users to click on “Who can see my stuff?” to reveal three additional questions, including:
a) Who can see my future posts?
Click on the small icon to change the setting to your desired state.
You can choose public, friends, only you, or, if you have lists set-up, you can choose custom and determine what list is privy to your posts.
b) Where can I review all my posts and things I am tagged in?
Did you know you can track 100% of your activity on Facebook, including posts you create on your Timeline, your friends’ timeline, and public pages? Click on “Use Activity Log” to view all of your interactions.
This is the one stop-shop to make any changes from public to private. In fact, you can change settings or delete old posts. This may be a good time to go through past posts, and delete any that may be better-off deleted.
c) What do other people see on my timeline?
People also are curious to know what other people can view on their profile. I have heard of some people going through the effort to open additional profiles to view their profile as a “non-friend.” There is an easier way though – and always has been.
Clicking on “What do other people see on my timeline” allows users to view their profile as “public” or a specific person.
2. Who can contact me?
My clients are also curious as to who, from the public, can contact them. Facebook has divided this section into two sections including one about messages and friend requests:
a) Whose message do I want filtered into my Inbox?
This is one of the big changes Facebook has made to your privacy settings. Starting in 2013, Facebook will allow non-friends to send messages to your inbox for as little as $1.00. This new advertising avenue seeks to increase Facebook ad revenue through a new medium.
If you want to mitigate these types of messages click “Strict Filtering” to ensure that you only receive message from mostly friends or people you may know. “Basic Filtering” is not as strict and you may find ad messages quickly popping up.
b) Who can send me friend requests?
Facebook allows you to change who can send you friend requests. Users have the option of “everyone” (i.e. public) or friends of friends. Sorry folks, it’s only one or the other.
3) How do I stop someone from bothering me?
Do you have an ex-boyfriend, ex-girlfriend, ex-wife, and ex-husband? Or, all of the above? Although this setting previously existed, it is now front-and-center to ensure users are not harassed by particular users.
To add users to the blocked list, either input their name or email address. Blocked users are truly “blocked” from looking-up and viewing your profile.
These are just some of the changes that you will notice the next time you log into your personal Facebook account. The best way to learn about these changes is to investigate them yourself. If you have any questions, consider booking a private session!
