
Your privacy is valuable. Are you concerned about it? Facebook friends can share your stuff. Game apps collect information about you and sell it to third parties. Live video streams can be seen by anyone. Ugh! Unless you learn about the ever-changing privacy controls and take control of them on your Facebook page, you may want to reconsider posting anything.
Privacy controls on Facebook change on a regular basis. But, thankfully, managing your page and your privacy is getting easier.
Basic Facebook Page Privacy
Here’s a simple, user-friendly way to guide you through your privacy settings. Click on the padlock symbol in the upper right of your Facebook page. A drop down menu will appear which will walk you through your current settings as they pertain to “Your Posts,” “Your Apps” and “Your Profile.”
1. Your Posts
For your posts, it is recommended that you check “Friends” for your default sharing setting rather than “Public.” If your posts are set to “Public,” anyone, on or off Facebook, is able to see your posts. Keep your activity restricted to only those whom you have “Friended.” Your business page, if you have one, is another matter. You want to generate interest in your business, so check the “Public” default sharing setting on your business page.
Let’s dive a little deeper into your “Friend” setting. Click on:
- The sharing setting button
- “More Options”
- “Custom” – Here you can include all your Friends, while excluding certain Friends you don’t wish to share updates with. If you don’t want Friends of anyone tagged in your posts or photos, uncheck the option in this window.
If you are a member of Facebook groups or if you have made lists of Facebook friends, it is possible to restrict or hide your posts from these groups or lists. For example, let’s say you want only your college friends to see your late-night party pictures or you don’t want your colleagues to see that you weren’t really sick when you called in sick. These restrictions come in handy on a per-post basis or as an overall option.
Also, the sharing settings of any individual Facebook update can be changed by clicking on the sharing button to the left of the “Post” button. You can even choose to go back into the settings of previous posts and change the settings. Just click on the people icon at the top of the post to the right of the date stamp. Neat, huh?
2. Your Apps
Each app you agreed to install has permission to post to your Friends list, unless you chose not to give that permission when you installed it. This means Candy Crush and Instagram Facebook apps for example, even though you may not use them any longer. Your apps tool shows each app that is attached to your account and what permissions each one has. These settings also control who can see which apps you have installed.
Take a look at which apps are attached to your account. If you don’t use an app anymore, delete it. Click on the “x.” Then set the sharing permissions of the apps you wish to keep to “Only Me.”
3. Your Profile
Here’s where you’ll find the privacy setting on your email addresses, birth date, hometown, relationship status and other personal details about yourself. Under emails it will show the one you registered with when you first signed up for Facebook as well as the one Facebook has assigned to you. You will likely never use this one.
Your birth date is split between the day/month and the year. This allows your Friends to wish you “Happy Birthday!” on your Facebook page on your special day without knowing your exact age.
The hometown setting only affects what your Friends can see. Others, including advertisers, may still access this information, especially if you are using the Facebook app which tracks your location automatically.
Lastly, if you set a relationship with another Facebook user, it will be shared unless you set it otherwise.
Finally …
This is only a partial list of the information you’re sharing. If you prefer to see the full list, click the “About Page” button. This will take you to your profile page. This is where, you can review the “Work and Education,” “Places You’ve Lived,” “Contact and Basic Info,” “Family and Relationships,” and “Details About You” and make changes. Just hover your mouse over each and click the link that appears.
Who can see your Facebook page stuff? That’s totally up to you. Control of your Facebook page lies in your hands unless you default that control to others. If you value your privacy, take control!
Want help taking control of your privacy on your Facebook page? Call Rockin’ Robin at (307) 631-1867 for a free 15-minute consultation today. Find out how to control who can see your Facebook stuff.