Data security on social media platforms is a hot topic, and Facebook is no exception. Here’s how you can unlock some of the platform’s lesser-known privacy options and secure your account.
1) Keep your profile image safe.
Your profile image serves as a primary means of identification on social media. The problem is that anyone with your name and even your profile picture may start a bogus Facebook account. Facebook has developed a ‘Profile picture guard’ tool to prevent this from happening. Open your Facebook profile and select your existing profile photo (not the ‘Update profile picture’ option). When the profile photo appears, pick ‘Turn on profile picture guard’ from the settings menu at the bottom of the image. A blue shield will protect your photo, and no one will be able to share or download it.
2) Enlist the help of your friends as authenticators.
If Facebook identifies an unauthorized login or hacking attempt, your account will be locked, and you will be unable to access it. The process of regaining access to your account used to be lengthy and confusing, but now Facebook allows you to designate up to five trusted friends to assist you in recovering access. Pick at least three people from your friend list by going to Settings > Security and login > Pick friends to contact. If you are somehow locked out of your account, these friends can send you verification codes to assist you in recovering access.
3) Be aware of the devices you use.
Facebook has a ‘Where you’re signed in’ feature under Settings > Security and Login. This section lists all of the devices (laptop, smartphone, tablet, etc.) that you’ve used to access your Facebook account. Delete those devices you don’t recognize or to which you no longer have access. If you’re still somewhat confused about the status of some gadgets, we recommend logging out of all sessions and logging in again. No one else will be able to gain access to your Facebook account as a result of this.
4) Go over all of your data.
When you enter your Facebook account settings, you’ll find a new menu item on the left — ‘Your Facebook information.’ Facebook has centralized all of your information on a single page. You may browse and download info about yourself by category (posts, photographs, comments, likes, and so on). You may also limit your actions on your friends’ timelines by seeing and managing your activity log from this page.
5) Take control of your Facebook data.
A shortcut to ‘Manage your data’ is also available on the Facebook Information page. When you use this tool, you must choose whether you want to manage data on Facebook- now Meta. You have got complete control over how and where Facebook uses any of your data if you use the platform. You may customize your location data, contacts posted to Facebook, face recognition settings, ad preferences alongside a variety of other options.
6) Maintain control over your third-party logins Instead of registering a new account afresh, most websites and apps allow you to log in using your Facebook account. While this simplifies things, we frequently forget to deactivate Facebook access for these third-party apps and websites once we’ve stopped using them. Go to Apps and Websites under Settings. A list of all active apps and websites with accessibility to your Facebook account will appear. You can select which apps to remove from the list, as well as any posts that a specific app or website may have made on your account.
