Like it or not, Facebook has become a big part of our lives, and a big part of our culture. It helps you find old friends, communicate with your family, and share your life with everyone. It is so easy to share things on Facebook that it makes it easy for almost anyone to gain access to what you share.
Recruiters, managers, and human resources departments use Facebook to research candidates for employment and to see what current employees are up to, so those drunken pictures of you from a fraternity party could cost you a job.
Your friends may be sharing information about you that you would rather keep private, and they may be sharing information about you through games and applications without even knowing it. Protect yourself by changing your privacy settings, and arm yourself by learning how Facebook security works. After all, Companies can store your Facebook data for over 7 years.
Keep the Facebook Stalkers at Bay
Just because you’ve been very selective about who you friend, does not mean that they are the only people accessing information about you from Facebook. Google and other major search engines display results from Facebook profiles with public search enabled. Even though someone may not get much information from your Facebook profile in search results, a questionable profile photo may be enough to scare a potential employer or client away.
How to disable Public Profile search:
- Click on Account, and then choose Privacy Settings.
- Click on the Edit your settings link under Apps and Websites.
- Click on the Edit Settings button for Public search.
- Uncheck Enable public search.
The information from your profile that appears in search results may not be removed immediately, but it will once the search engines re-index the site.
Limit What Your Friends Can See and Do
Interacting with your friends is the cornerstone of Facebook. You take pictures with your friends, you hang out with your friends, and it’s natural to want to share these good times. Unfortunately, your friends may have a bit too much control over what they can link to your profile or the information they can get from your profile.
Facebook friends can tag you in photos that you have no control over, and check you into places that you purportedly visited together. They can also see if you have checked into a place near to where they are currently. Adjust your settings to take control over the pictures you are tagged in, keep people from checking you into places, and stop surprise drop-ins from friends who can see your recent check-ins.
How to disable Suggest Tags:
- Click on Account, and then choose Privacy Settings.
- Click on the Customize settings link.
- Click on the Edit Settings button next to Suggest photos of me to friends.
- Choose Disabled from the drop-down menu in the Suggest Tags window, and then click Okay.
How to prevent friends from checking you into Places:
- Click on Account, and then choose Privacy Settings.
- Click on the Customize settings link.
- Click on the Edit Settings button next to Friends can check me into places.
- Choose Disabled from the drop-down menu on the Friend Tags window, and then click Okay.
Additionally, you may want to prevent your profile from appearing in the “People Here Now” list when you check in to Places.
- Click on Account, and then choose Privacy Settings.
- Click on the Customize settings link.
- Uncheck the Enable box next to Include me in “People Here Now” after I check-in, and then click Okay.
Control What Friends Can Share Via Apps, Games, and Websites
Chances are some of your friends have been sucked into Farmville or various other Facebook games. Others may have authorized applications and Web services to connect to their Facebook profiles and use their profile information. What you may not know is that those applications may be gathering information from your profile unbeknownst to your friend.
It is imperative that you control what profile information is passed to third-party sites, applications, and games through your friends’ profiles. You can follow these steps to stop the transfer of your profile information to games and applications your friends use.
- Click on Account, and then choose Privacy Settings.
- Click on the Edit your settings link under Apps and Websites.
- Uncheck all of the checkboxes next to the types of information you do not want to share, and then click Save Changes.
Prevent Your Profile Information from Appearing to Friends on Other Sites
Inevitably, you and your friends have enough in common that you may end up using the same web-services outside of Facebook. Maybe you all listen to music through Pandora or review movies on Rotten Tomatoes. Just because you both use the same services does not mean you want your friends to be able to see what you are doing on those sites. By disabling Instant Personalization, you can keep third-party sites from displaying your activities to your Facebook friends.
- Click on Account, and then choose Privacy Settings.
- Click on the Edit your settings link under Apps and Websites.
- Click the Edit Settings button next to Instant personalization.
- After you close the preview, uncheck the checkbox next to Enable instant personalization on partner websites.
If you take the time to fine-tune your permissions, you can save yourself from having to explain why you shared certain things on Facebook to friends, relatives, or your employer. You can also prevent your friends from sharing information about you without even knowing they’ve shared it.
Ultimately, you are safeguarding your image and your personal brand by controlling what is associated with your Facebook profile.
