Facebook's privacy settings seem to change every other day, but if you want to be more selective about what you share with whom, we've compiled a list of resources to help you stay updated.
The "recommended" settings on Facebook are the default settings, so if you haven't ever gone into your settings, this is what you will see if you log in, click on "Account" in the top right and select "Privacy settings."
Facebook suggests that you keep your status, photos and wall posts public to everyone on Facebook. Personally, I don't want complete strangers knowing every time I post a picture of a tomato in my garden, so I've created my own custom settings, which you can see designated with a green checkmark.
Before creating your own custom setting, you may first want to create Facebook lists. I have a list called "Professional Contacts," filled with people I've met at various networking events – someone I might want to share a technology link with, but not someone I want to know what I ate for breakfast (I don't usually post that sort of thing, unless there's blueberry pie in the office kitchen at 8 a.m. ...). In addition to How To Create Lists, Mashable also has a great post on Using Facebook for Professional Networking.
Once your lists are in place, changing your Facebook privacy settings is easy – just click "customize." Facebook has it broken down by "Things I share" and "Things others share," and you can easily select whether you want Everyone (remember, this is anyone with a Facebook account), Friends of Friends, Friends Only or a Custom setting – that's where your lists, if applicable, would come in – or you can allow or disallow individual friends' access, too, just by typing in their name.
For instance, I let everyone see my website, but only I can view photos I'm tagged in – mainly because I can't control that. If you want your profile extremely locked down, you may disable your friends' ability to post on your wall – something else you can't control, but it is also a useful communication tool. Also of note, you do have to apply specific settings to your photo albums separately and individually within the photo album settings section of Facebook.
Once you have your privacy settings squared away, you may want to review this resource that covers both specific settings (hiding from search engines) and common sense (letting strangers know when you're not home): Seven Things to Stop Doing Now on Facebook
Also, my favorite Facebook-related site, AllFacebook.com, has a whole guide to Facebook privacy settings, which I highly recommend checking out.
Finally, if you have any specific questions about Facebook privacy settings that we haven't covered, let us know in the comments!
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment