Online Reputation Management Blog

How to Change Your Facebook Privacy Settings

With the introduction of Timelines and Open Graph at Facebook’s recent f8 conference, many people are concerned about the impact of these changes on online privacy. On Facebook, your name and username, profile picture, gender, user ID/account number and networks are visible to anyone.

If you are one of Facebook’s 800 million users, and you are concerned about who can access your personal information online, it takes only a minute to go private.

Follow these 8 steps below to secure your account and take control over your online image.

1. Log into your Facebook account and click on the dropdown arrow next to “Home” on the upper right hand corner. Use the drop down and click on the “Privacy Settings” link.

2. Under “Control Your Default Privacy,” click on the “Custom” link.

3. The screen will show you four options to select:  “Friends of Friends,” “Friends,” “Specific People or Lists” and “Only Me.” You can also hide posts from specific people or lists by typing the name in the blank space provided.

4. Then, scroll down to the “How You Connect” section.  Click on “Edit Settings” and after the popup use the drop down menus on the right side of your screen to select who you want to view this information.

5. Next, be sure to click “Edit Settings” to the right of the “How Tags Work” section.  A popup window will appear and you can adjust the “Maximum Profile Visibility” settings and adjust your default settings to “Off.”

6. Scroll down to the “Apps and Websites” section.  Click the “Edit Settings” link and follow the drop down menus on the right side of your popup to restrict which apps, games and websites you share your information with.

7. Click on the “Limit the Audience for Past Posts” link to protect information you may have shared publicly in the past.

8. Scroll to the top of the “Privacy” settings page  to make sure that your new settings have all been applied.

Tell all your “Friends” how easy it is to change your privacy settings on Facebook and protect your privacy.

About Todd William

Foodie. Bruce Springsteen fan. Citizen of Red Sox Nation. Online reputation management strategist. Founder of Reputation Rhino. For more, follow us @reputationrhino

Comments

  1. Hi Todd, I read a chat transciption on Businessweek and went on your blog to find out how to change my privacy settings on fb. However, when I go to the custom link, I don't get to the three links you mention in your step 4. Is there anything different now?
    Dobi 

Trackbacks

  1. […] For more tips on Facebook privacy, check out our recent post: How to Change Your Facebook Privacy Settings. […]

  2. […] It was interesting to learn that 57 percent of adults think about taking steps to keep their work and personal profiles private, but 49% of adults do not use privacy settings on social networking sites. Why is it so important to manage your privacy online? Because mistakes happen — 17% of people have inadvertently shared information online that was intended to remain private. Most commonly shared are details about one’s personal life (56%) and personal photos (38%). Check out our recent post to learn How to Change Your Facebook Privacy Settings. […]

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    How to Change Your Facebook Privacy Settings…

    Follow these 8 steps below to secure your Facebook account, protect your privacy and take control over your online image….

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    How to Change Your Facebook Privacy Settings…

    Follow these 8 steps below to secure your Facebook account, protect your privacy and take control over your online image….

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    How to Change Your Facebook Privacy Settings…

    Follow these 8 steps below to secure your Facebook account, protect your privacy and take control over your online image….

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