Facebook Security

Privacy Settings
The Privacy Settings let you make your entire page as private or as public as you wish. If you’re using Timeline, clicking on “editing your timeline info” takes you to the page that contains all of your personal information. You probably entered much of this information when you first signed up for Facebook, and it’s a good idea to check it periodically to make sure it’s up to date. You can edit your “Work and Education” or go into your “About Me” and “Basic Info” sections and play around with things like “Date of Birth,” “Religion,” “Relationship Status” and “Political Views.” If you leave a field blank, it doesn’t show up on your profile. Be sure to hit “Save” when you are done with a section so Facebook implements the changes you’ve made. One note: Facebook warns that even if your page is private, “the people you share with can always share your information with others, including apps.” It's always a good idea to post responsibly, no matter how you set your privacy options.
Under “learn more,” Facebook provides video instruction on most of its advanced features, such as tagging and location, features that can be very helpful when navigating the site. The "Help" section answers many questions regarding privacy.


Default Privacy Settings
You can set your Default Privacy setting and make decisions about “How You Connect.” (“Friends” is the default but you can chose to customize or go public as well.) This controls who can have access to locating your Facebook profile by doing a general online search. “Timeline and Tagging” lets you control who can tag you in posts and pictures without your permission and whether or not you want to be notified to approve or deny the tags. “Apps and Websites” allows you to restrict third party access to your information. “Limit the Audience for Past Posts” restricts how far back people can search into your online history. And “Blocked People and Apps” allows you to manage any people or apps you may have given restricted access. Being aware that these options exist and spending a little bit of time on them can give you peace of mind.


Individual Posts
Facebook gives you three choices when it comes to securing individual posts. The first is “Public,” which means that anyone with a Facebook account can see it. The second makes your post visible to “Friends,” meaning that all of your friends -- from Grandma to the EVP of your company -- can see the pictures you posted of karaoke night with the girls. If this worries you, you might want to try “Custom,” an option that lets you pick and choose who sees what. You can create lists by clicking the Friends icon. A good habit to get into is to start putting your friends and family into the lists provided or creating some of your own. That way, you can feel free to share girls' night with your “Close Friends” list and keep both your grandmother and the boss out of it. This filtering also works for photos and videos, and you can make adjustments to photos you’ve posted in the past. Taking a few minutes to go through your archive lets you feel comfortable with what all camps are seeing.


Account Settings
The security settings can be found under the same tab by clicking “Account Settings.” In this field you will find a set of options protecting your account itself from anyone who might try to access it without permission. You can designate devices, request notifications upon logins from unrecognized devices, monitor active sessions, and generally find out who has accessed your account and when.
Facebook is a powerful tool that has changed the way we communicate as a society. Most of the time it’s all in good fun, but it’s your face and your story. Presenting it with care and endless tact is the most effective way to avoid ending up in a sticky situation.