Secure your account
You've
doubtless heard you should have a strong password. It's especially
important for email and social-networking accounts because so much of
your digital life revolves around them. Plus, many other services let
you log on using your Facebook account, so if that gets compromised, so
will your other accounts.
Because
passwords are tough to manage, it's best not to rely solely on them.
Turn on what Facebook calls Login Approvals. It's in the account
settings under "Security." After you do so, you're asked for
confirmation -- a special number sent to your phone -- when signing on
from a new device. Unless you switch devices often, this is something
you set up once and forget about.
Review your privacy settings
Facebook
offers a series of quick privacy "shortcuts." On desktops and laptops,
look for the small padlock on the upper right corner. On Apple and
Android devices, access shortcuts through the menu — the three
horizontal bars.
The key shortcut is
"Who can see my stuff?" See whether you've been inadvertently
broadcasting your musings to all of Facebook. You'll probably want to at
least limit sharing to "Friends" rather than "Public," though you can
customise that further to exclude certain individuals or groups -- such
as coworkers, or grandparents. When sharing, less is more.
While
you're at it, check "Timeline and Tagging" in your account settings.
You can insist on approving posts that people tag you in. Note that this
is limited to what appears on your personal timeline; if Mary tags you
in a post, Mary's friends will still see it regardless of your settings.
If
you're on a desktop or laptop, Facebook has a Privacy Checkup tool to
review your settings. Look for that padlock. This tool is coming soon to
mobile.
Unfriend away
Purge
friends you're no longer in touch with. If you think "unfriending" is
too mean, add them to an "Acquaintances" or "Restricted" list.
"Acquaintances" means they won't show up in your news feed often, though
they'll still have full access to any posts you distribute to your
friends. "Restricted" means they'll only see posts you mark as public.
Either is effectively a way to unfriend someone without dropping any
clues you've done so.
You can also
create custom lists, such as "college friends" or "family." This is
great for oversharing with those who'll appreciate it, while not
annoying everyone else and putting yourself in danger of becoming an
"acquaintance" yourself. You can create lists on a traditional PC by
hitting "More" next to "Friends" to the left of your feed. Individuals
can be in multiple groups. Capabilities are limited on mobile, although
changes you make on the PC will appear on your phone or tablet.
Watch those apps
Perhaps
someone invited you to play a game a few years ago. You tried it and
moved on, yet the app is still getting access to your data. Or perhaps
you've used Facebook to log onto a service you no longer use.
The
Privacy Checkup tool on PCs will review apps for you automatically. On
mobile devices, look for "Apps" in the account settings (not "Apps" in
the main menu).
A related option is
the Security Checkup tool. It's an easy way to log out of Facebook on
devices you rarely use. You can also enable alerts when someone tries to
sign on from a new device or browser. To run this, go to
http://facebook.com/securitycheckup on a PC. On the Android app, search
for "security checkup" in the Help Centre. On iOS, you'll have to find
the options individually in the account settings under "Security."
Control your data
You
can exert some influence over whose posts you see more or less often by
going to "News Feeds Preferences." The setting is on the top right on
browsers and Android apps and on the lower right on iPhones. Here, you
can select friends who'll always show up on top, or hide someone's posts
completely.
If you're worried about
data usage, you can stop videos from playing automatically. On Android,
go to "Autoplay" in the "App Settings." On iPhone, it's in the account
settings under "Videos and Photos."
Plan ahead
Two
settings might eliminate grief later in life...or death. In the
security settings, you can designate certain friends as trusted
contacts. They'll have power to help you if you get locked out of your
account. You can also designate a "Legacy Contact" — a family member or
close friend who'd serve as your administrator should you, um, make your
last status update (as in, ever).
They
won't be able to post on your behalf or see your messages, but they'll
be able to respond to new friend requests and take a few additional
actions on your deceased behalf.
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