Facebook Privacy

I'm back after a month break due to a 2 week vacation then catching up on all the things I missed while out.

In curating my Facebook feed to open up this blog, I realized the level of freedom and control that Facebook offers in it's privacy settings.  Few people fail to recognize how open their Facebook may be and how locked down you can make it.

You want to do this proactively as you never know when someone will use your profile information against you.  I was once pursued by a lawyer who used my LinkedIn information to begin calling me at work.  Debt Collectors and potential employers check out your social media all the time.

First of all, a few features:

• Look at your page as a public user sees your profile

When looking at your feed, click on your name in the upper right hand corner
On the lower right hand of your cover photo is a "..."
Click on it, then select "View As..."
Note that in the ribbon at the top, you can type int he name of a person and see your profile as they see it.  It's a good way to check to make sure you are blocking things from someone in particular.

You are now seeing your profile as a person who isn't a Friend or Friend of a Friend sees it.  Check for posts you didn't mean to make public.  Check your About section and pictures to see what is visible.

All of these permissions can be changed in your Edit Profile section.

• Limit Past Posts

If you want to adjust your privacy settings for all past posts, you can go into Settings then select Privacy then for Limit the Audience... choose Limit Old Posts




Next, the settings you'll want to look at (all of these can be found in the Settings section) and the recommended setting.  This will give you a locked down profile without making it unusable.

Privacy

• Who can send you friend requests: Friends of Friends
• Who can look you up using the email address you provided?  Friends of Friends
• Who can look you up using the phone number you provided?  I allow Everyone, but maybe you want to make this Friends of Friends
• Do you want search engines outside of Facebook to link to your profile?  No (If you've googled your name, you probably see a link to your facebook profile.  This will block that)

Timeline and Tagging

• Who can post to your timeline? Friends
• Review Posts...?  Yes (This will prevent someone from posting inappropriate posts or pictures on your timeline)
• Who can see posts you've been tagged in on your timeline?  Friends
• Who can see what others have posted to your timeline? Friends
• How can I manage tags people add and tagging suggestions?  Review all of these

Public Posts

• Who can follow me?  Friends
• Public Post Comments: Friends or Friends of Friends
• Public Profile Info: Friends