Step one: See your profile as others see it
Once you know how forthcoming your current Facebook setup
is, you can decide what changes you need to make to your share settings.
To view your account as others view it, sign into your account, choose
the gear icon in the top-right corner, click Privacy Settings, and
select Timeline and Tagging in the left pane.
Next, click View As to the right of "Review what other people see on your timeline" in the "Who can see things on my timeline?" section. Click Okay to close the pop-up window, if necessary. Your timeline will then appear as the public sees it.
At the strictest privacy setting, the public sees only your Facebook profile and cover photos, and a link to contact you, which you can restrict to friends of friends.
If you've limited access to your timeline to friends only, the public will see only your profile and cover photos, a link for contacting you (which you can limit to friends of friends), the people you're following, and the groups you belong to. To view your profile as a particular person sees it, click View as Specific Person at the top of the window and enter the person's name.
To change who can view your timeline, return to Facebook's Timeline and Tagging settings and click Edit to the right of "Who can see posts you've been tagged in on your timeline?" and "Who can see what others post on your timeline?" Make your selections for each setting on their drop-down menus and then click Close.
Next, click View As to the right of "Review what other people see on your timeline" in the "Who can see things on my timeline?" section. Click Okay to close the pop-up window, if necessary. Your timeline will then appear as the public sees it.
At the strictest privacy setting, the public sees only your Facebook profile and cover photos, and a link to contact you, which you can restrict to friends of friends.
If you've limited access to your timeline to friends only, the public will see only your profile and cover photos, a link for contacting you (which you can limit to friends of friends), the people you're following, and the groups you belong to. To view your profile as a particular person sees it, click View as Specific Person at the top of the window and enter the person's name.
To change who can view your timeline, return to Facebook's Timeline and Tagging settings and click Edit to the right of "Who can see posts you've been tagged in on your timeline?" and "Who can see what others post on your timeline?" Make your selections for each setting on their drop-down menus and then click Close.
Change who can view and post to your timeline via the drop-down menu in Facebook's Timeline and Tagging settings.
Step two: Make sure you're browsing securely
Last month Facebook made secure browsing the default for all
users. To ensure you're using a secure connection whenever one is
available, click Security in the left pane of Facebook's Account
Settings and make sure Secure Browsing is enabled.
The security settings also let you enable log-in notifications and approvals, and view and edit your recognized devices and active sessions. To remove a device, click Edit to the right and then Remove next to the device's entry. Likewise, to end one or all active Facebook sessions, click Edit to the right of Active Sessions and choose End Activity or End All Activity, respectively.
The security settings also let you enable log-in notifications and approvals, and view and edit your recognized devices and active sessions. To remove a device, click Edit to the right and then Remove next to the device's entry. Likewise, to end one or all active Facebook sessions, click Edit to the right of Active Sessions and choose End Activity or End All Activity, respectively.
End some or all active Facebook sessions by
clicking Edit to the right of Active Sessions in the Security Settings
and select either End Activity or End All Activity.
Step three: Limit access to you and your Facebook stuff
To restrict access to your past and future Facebook posts, click Privacy
in the left pane of the Account Settings. Then choose Limit Past Posts
under "Who can see my posts?" and Edit to the right of "Who can see your
future posts?" in the same section. A warning appears when you attempt
to limit access to all your past posts at once rather than changing the
setting post-by-post.
Facebook warns you that changing access to all your past posts at once rather than individually can't be undone.
The options under "Who can contact me?" let you limit friend requests
and filter the messages you receive. You can also restrict who can look
you up by e-mail address and phone number, who can look up your timeline
by name, and whether your timeline will link to search engines.
Step four: Tame your timeline and tags
You've already determined who can view your timeline (see
step one), but you can also block friends from adding to your timeline
and review photos someone attempts to tag you in via the Timeline and
Tagging Settings. The only two options for "Who can post to my
timeline?" under "Who can add things to my timeline?" are Friends and
Only Me. To enable review of posts your tagged in before they appear on
your timeline, click Edit to the right of the entry and select Enable in
the drop-down menu.
Under "How can I manage tags people add and tagging suggestions?" you can enable the feature that allows you to review tags people add to your own posts before they appear, set who besides the normal audience sees the posts you're tagged in, and decide whether tag suggestions appear when photos that look like you are uploaded.
Under "How can I manage tags people add and tagging suggestions?" you can enable the feature that allows you to review tags people add to your own posts before they appear, set who besides the normal audience sees the posts you're tagged in, and decide whether tag suggestions appear when photos that look like you are uploaded.
To prevent Facebook from suggesting tags when photos that look like you are uploaded, set this option to No One.
Step five: Don't let your apps run amok
Some Facebook apps grab all the permissions they can, including access
to your information and the ability to post photos and status updates
"on your behalf." For example, the IFTTT app lays claim to your complete
profile and all your activities, as well as some of the profile and
activities of your friends.
Facebook apps such as IFTTT require access to your entire account and some of your friends' information.
To review your Facebook app permissions, click Apps in the left pane of
the Account Settings window, choose Edit to the right of the app's
entry, and either change the app's visibility via the drop-down menu, or
click "Remove app" at the bottom of the entry. You can also click
"Report app" to let Facebook know the app is spam, inappropriate, or
requesting too much information, or to contact the developer to report a
bug or abusive content, or for another reason.
Report an app to Facebook as spam or otherwise
inappropriate, or contact the app's developer via the "Report app"
option in the app's settings.
To prevent other Facebook users from volunteering your information to
the Facebook apps they use, click Edit to the right of "Apps others
use," uncheck the categories of information listed, and click Save
Changes.
Step six: Opt out of Facebook ads
Facebook currently doesn't let third-party apps or ad
networks use your image or name in ads, but that may change in the
future. To opt out ahead of time, click Ads in the left pane of the
Account Settings window and choose Edit in the Third Party Sites
section. Select "No one" in the drop-down menu under "If we allow this
in the future, show my information to" and then click Save Changes.
To exclude yourself from Facebook's social ads, click Edit in the Ads & Friends section, choose "No one" on the drop-down menu next to "Pair my social actions with ads for," and select Save Changes.
To exclude yourself from Facebook's social ads, click Edit in the Ads & Friends section, choose "No one" on the drop-down menu next to "Pair my social actions with ads for," and select Save Changes.
