Introduction
Most people would agree that using privacy settings to protect your identity and other personal information is a good idea. Many people take privacy to the next level and make sure that the information that they make available online is could not be used against them by a predator or thief. There is a level of suspicion that is healthy when it comes to deciding who and what websites you trust your information to. Facebook is no different. You must learn how to use Facebook’s privacy settings if you ever plan on having anything more than a false sense of security.
Instructions
Learning to use Facebook privacy settings is largely a matter of knowing what privacy settings exist and what needs to be done to change those settings from their default position to a position that will better serve the privacy needs of the account user. Facebook privacy settings are very easy to learn how to use once you know that to look for.
Tips for learning how to use Facebook privacy settings
Explore the “privacy” page — The Facebook website has developed a variety of privacy settings that you can look through and make changes to simply by going to the Privacy page link that is on your account page. At this page, you will see links that will lead you to where you can control who sees your profile, you can control who is able to find you in searches and what those people are allowed to see once they do find you, etc. You can also control who sees your contact information and even create a Limited Profile which will allow you to have complete control over who is allowed to see certain elements in your profile.
Change all default settings — Learning how to use Facebook privacy settings is very simple. In fact, you can break down what you need to know into looking through the “Privacy” page and changing all of the settings from their default position. When in the default position all data that is posted by you is being made available to anyone who searches through your profile. As long as you change your settings away from default you have already done a great deal towards learning how to use Facebook privacy settings.
Facebook “help” section on privacy and security — If you are looking for a detailed description of how to can get to and change your Facebook privacy settings the Facebook “help” section about privacy and security can help. The exact link to see this help material is: http://www.facebook.com/help.php?page=9. On this page you can read through all of the possible Facebook privacy options that you have as well as read about exactly what links and drop-down menus you will need to access in order to make the changes that you need in order to enhance your level of privacy.
Other Tips
You do not have to be a computer or program genius to be able to learn how to use your Facebook privacy settings. With a little reading and some tinkering with the system you can be a privacy settings pro in no time. Just remember that Facebook privacy settings are not perfect and therefore cannot guarantee that no unauthorized party can find a way to access your profile without your permission. Be careful about what you decide to post to your profile and use good judgment when your privacy and in many cases personal security are at stake.