Social
Control what your social media profiles reveal
Some Facebook apps can access your information, plus your friends', or even your inbox. Your profile contains pictures, wall posts, your address, email, phone number, what music you like, what you buy, where you travel, who your family is, who you are dating, what articles you read, your political views, and other personal information. Even your posts on other people's walls or in groups can be available.
Who Can See It?
Depending on your profile, different people can access different information from your Facebook. Some Applications also access your friends' profiles or even your inbox or friend requests. See the Facebook Developer Page for information on permissions.
What Can You Do About It?
- Use the "View As" feature on Facebook to view your profile from other users' perspectives. If you don't like what you see, change your privacy settings and profile and run the test again. Keep checking back when new features are introduced, you make changes, or you add new information.
Privacy Protection Tips:
- To manage your Facebook presence and privacy, stay engaged. New features require new settings, because Facebook doesn't always have tools to customize privacy. One study found that Facebook users still unintentionally reveal a lot of personal information to new friends, including ones they don't know or have never met. So be careful what links you open up or click on.
- Be aware of where you sign on, and always sign off your account when you are using a public computer or public network. If you don't want Facebook to track the things you do while you're online, log off Facebook when browsing. And make sure you use a strong password.
For more information, see Facebook's help page and the Privacy Rights Clearinghouse.
