Internet Privacy has started sound like an oxymoron! Be it the Web-Browser privacy or privacy to your personal data online or even cell phone privacy, it has always seemed like getting worse by the day. Latest addition to the bandwagon is Facebook!
Towards the end of the last year, Facebook announced some changes to their
Privacy Policy
and towards how they perceive users’ privacy. They would default the
user profiles to be viewed by everyone, which means that anyone with a
Facebook account can view your settings. It caused a huge uproar by some
people, but I believe Facebook is just trying to give maximum control
to the users on how they want different people to view their details on
Facebook.
How to Change Facebook Privacy Settings?
Check out this official video which explains the available options/settings and a good idea to customize it to your needs
Cross Check Your Privacy Settings
Create and Populate Lists
The first thing you must do is to segregate all your friends/contacts
and put them into custom lists. Facebook lists provide a way for users
to group their friends in order to organize them and to have more
control of your privacy by using these lists. There is no such
restrictions on number of lists you can create, but having an optimal
number makes your profile management easier. To create a list, login to
Facebook, click on the
Friends link on top, Press the
Create List button. Enter the name you wish to call your list, and you can enter the friends you want to add to that list.
Check Your Profile Privacy Settings
The next step is to check and set your privacy settings, which is the most important activity. So, go to
Settings and then
Privacy Settings. In the Privacy Settings window, go to
Profile Information. Profile Information is where you can control what people can see on your profile. The default provided to Facebook users are:
Everyone, which I guess is not what you want. So change it to whatever you like.
Log into your Facebook account and
follow this link to instantly know how your profile might look to other people on Facebook who are not your friends.
Check Your Contact Privacy Settings
Now click on
Back to Privacy button to go back to the main privacy settings page. Here click on
Contact Information.
In this window, you are able to control who sees your contact
information. Modify each privacy setting in the same way that you did
for your profile information.
Check What Your Friends can Share about You to apps
This is another very important step. Nothing much has changed with
respect to the recent changes done to Facebook privacy settings, but
still it is better to cross check what all information is being shared
to what all apps and websites via your friends.
Control who can search you
You can control who can search for your Facebook profile by going to the Search area. You can select from five choices:
Everyone,
Friends and Networks,
Friends of Friends, and
Only Friends.
Protect Your Albums
Even after changing the privacy settings, it is better to cross check
if your albums are protected from strangers and stalkers. Visit your
Photos privacy page and limit the access to “Only Friends” or just for one list!
All these together, shouldn’t take more than 15 minutes of your time,
but helps you keep private and secure for a long time. Any additional
settings change you wanna suggest?
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