One of the biggest concerns that people have in using Facebook revolve around privacy. But as you’ll see today, if you make proper use of Facebook’s privacy settings, it’s really not a big concern. It’s relatively easy to set your Privacy Settings, so that only the right people can find you and access your information.
Who are the “right” people? Basically, anyone whom you specifically want to find you: Especially (since you’re a business) customers and potential customers.
Follow these simple steps and you’ll take care of the biggest security “leaks” – even if you really do want everyone to see everything!
Step One: Go up to the word “Account” in the blue menu bar at the top of the page (Right Top Corner). Click on it, and a menu will drop down…
Step Two: Select “Privacy Settings” from that drop-down menu. You will be taken to a new page.
Don’t waste time here: Go straight down to the small blue words “Customize settings” (circled in orange here) and click on that link. You’ll be taken to another new page…
Each one of the buttons with the little lock symbols has a drop-down menu, as you can see by the little downward arrows beside the words they contain. Possible settings offered by the drop-downs are:
Step Three: Before you touch any of these buttons, however, go straight down to the end of the “Things I share” section. You’ll see it is enabled (checked) by default.
This means people can identify the precise geographic location you’re typing from. Unless you’re on a World Tour and you want to update your fans on your physical progress, you’ll most likely want to disable that by unchecking the “Enable” box.
What’s the danger of leaving it enabled? Well, it then displays your profile thumbnail photo while pinpointing you on an actual map!
To learn more (and decide whether or not you want to be geo-targeted in real time), check out the Facebook Places section on Facebook.
Step Four: Go back to the top and (using the drop-down options) select the settings you prefer for each section. There is no “wrong or right” for these selections – just what works for your degree of comfort, taking into account how accessible you want to be to the general public. (If you’re a business, the less restricted your settings, the better – but you’ll definitely want strictly control information that is:
- Strictly personal
- Irrelevant to your niche
- Uninteresting to your niche
There are four levels of access with increasing levels of restriction: Everyone, Friends of Friends, and Friends Only. You’ll notice there is a fourth category in the drop-down options – “Customize”. This category allows you to post to specific groups or individuals on a one-time, post-by-post basis.
“Customize” overrides your default post settings.
Note that (depending on other settings) people outside your specs may still see your post, if you allow them to see your Wall (news feed). It’s always best to assume that nothing is ever private, once it’s posted on the net! But “Customized” specific settings ought to block all but the most determined seeker from seeing things you don’t want them to see.
If you have an existing account with photo albums, then you will definitely want to take a minute to click this link that you’ll see part way down the page…
Don’t forget about this when you’re uploading photographs in future. It can be really useful if you don’t want Joe Public to see the million-and-one baby photos you’re uploading for your mother to pour over.
What you need to hide from “Everyone” (recommended):
- Your birth date (or birth year, at the very least)
- Photos you are “tagged” in
- Your home address
- Your home phone
- Mobile phone
One setting you’ll need to remember to customize on each Friends Lists (as well as generally): The “Photos and videos I’m tagged in” section. Set it to be viewed by “Only Me” if you don’t want your list members seeing baby photos or embarrassing photos of you in your P. J.’s on Christmas morning. Mind, this doesn’t solve the problem of other people tagging you in their own photos, so don’t wear any lampshades and do Karaoke drunk unless it’s for a publicity opp. (You should receive an email saying you’ve been tagged, if someone else does that.)
If you don’t want photos to become public, at least set “Photos and videos I’m tagged in” to “Friends Only”. Remember, this does not mean your photos won’t be seen – just ones where someone has “tagged” you – attached your name to an image.
Okay! Congratulations! You’ve now finished setting your basic privacy settings.
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