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In this post, we will discuss Facebook privacy settings and how to adjust them.
Facebook is most notorious for its controversial privacy issues.
The Facebook–Cambridge Analytica data scandal was a major political scandal in early 2018 when it was revealed that Cambridge Analytica had harvested the personal data of millions of people’s Facebook profiles without their consent and used it for political advertising purposes.
It has been described as a watershed moment in the public understanding of personal data and precipitated a massive fall in Facebook’s stock price and calls for tighter regulation of tech companies’ use of data.
How to Change Privacy Settings on Facebook
If you are using the default privacy settings on Facebook then your account will be by default set to public so anyone can see your posts and profile.
There are certain settings you have to change to make your account private. (Facebook Support)
- First, go to Facebook Settings.
- On the Settings page, Click on Privacy.
- Next to “Activity” and “How People Find and Contact You” sections of the Privacy Settings and Tools page, click Edit to change the default settings.
- You can edit this into 6 different options: Public, Friends, Friends except, Specific friends, Only me, and Custom.
Other Important Facebook Privacy Settings
Your Facebook Information: This part contains settings that allow you to adjust who can see and download certain types of information about you and your Facebook activities.
It may take some time to navigate and adjust all the settings you’ll find here because some of these options take you to a deeper page that contains dozens or even hundreds of categories you can adjust
Timeline and Tagging: This section has information about who can see your timeline, who can tag you in posts, and what your review options are for those posts before they are made public.
Location: If you have the Facebook mobile app on your smartphone, you may find that Facebook is tracking your location.
This is where you change those settings. If you only use Facebook on a desktop or laptop, then your location settings are set to Off by default.
Blocking: This section allows you to create a Restricted List, which is people you are friends with, but that you don’t want to see everything you post.
You’ll also find settings to Block users, Block messages, and Block app invites.
Public Posts: Here’s where you change settings for who can follow you, who can comment on your public posts or view your public profile.
Ads: This is probably one of the most important settings in terms of your privacy, the security of your personal information and what you share on Facebook.
Be sure to go through all of the ad settings so you’ll be knowing what you control and who you’re sharing with.