It seems like there is something in the news or online every other day about privacy issues with Facebook.
Well, what you really need to know about privacy on Facebook is that if you are having problems, you probably can fix them yourself.
The main piece of information that all these news stories and web articles leave out is that it's really up to you to set your privacy the way you want it.
Facebook has pretty extensive privacy settings, but you have to take the time to go through them all and make sure you're not leaving anything out there that you don't want to.
Here is a quick checklist of simple steps to setting your privacy on Facebook.
First, organize all your friends into different Friends Lists.
Maybe you want all your Facebook friends to be able to see everything about you, but maybe you don't.
You only really need to create lists for those friends that you may want to block from some of your information.
People from work would be a good example or people you only know slightly from a group you belong to.
Go to your Profile and click on Account - Edit Friends - Make a List.
You can create several different lists for friends that you know from different parts of your life.
Second, make sure you check ALL the privacy settings.
Go to your Profile and click on Account - Privacy Settings.
Go through each item that you see on this page and the pages they connect to - Connecting on Facebook, Sharing on Facebook, Apps and Websites, etc.
On Sharing on Facebook, make sure you choose the option to Customize and then go through each item separately.
This is where you will use the lists you created earlier.
On these items, you have the option to exclude friends that are on lists.
This way, if there are certain interests, etc.
, that you don't want your work friends to know about, you can exclude that list from having access to that information.
Third, don't use 3rd party applications if you don't need to.
Applications and games can be fun, but they all want access to your information.
Many of them are probably fine since they know they will get kicked off Facebook if they use the information in ways they shouldn't, but it's hard to tell.
Alternatively, you can leave off the really personal stuff like your city and contact info - if it's not there, no one can get it.
Last, check back periodically - maybe every 3-4 months.
It's easy to get busy with your life and forget to add new friends to your lists or delete applications that you're not using anymore.
Keeping up with it on a regular basis will help ensure that everything stays the way you want it to.
And a final word about Pages vs.
Profiles.
If you have a Page set up for your business or organization, there are separate Privacy settings.
Go through them as well on a regular basis, but know that most of the information on a Page should be public since you are trying to promote something.
Leave your personal information on your Profile and only put public information on your Page.
People who are fans of your Page do not have access to your Profile unless they are also friends.
That's all there is to it! It should only take you 5-10 minutes to go through everything - maybe a little longer if you are creating new lists - and it's definitely worth the time to know that your information is protected.
Well, what you really need to know about privacy on Facebook is that if you are having problems, you probably can fix them yourself.
The main piece of information that all these news stories and web articles leave out is that it's really up to you to set your privacy the way you want it.
Facebook has pretty extensive privacy settings, but you have to take the time to go through them all and make sure you're not leaving anything out there that you don't want to.
Here is a quick checklist of simple steps to setting your privacy on Facebook.
First, organize all your friends into different Friends Lists.
Maybe you want all your Facebook friends to be able to see everything about you, but maybe you don't.
You only really need to create lists for those friends that you may want to block from some of your information.
People from work would be a good example or people you only know slightly from a group you belong to.
Go to your Profile and click on Account - Edit Friends - Make a List.
You can create several different lists for friends that you know from different parts of your life.
Second, make sure you check ALL the privacy settings.
Go to your Profile and click on Account - Privacy Settings.
Go through each item that you see on this page and the pages they connect to - Connecting on Facebook, Sharing on Facebook, Apps and Websites, etc.
On Sharing on Facebook, make sure you choose the option to Customize and then go through each item separately.
This is where you will use the lists you created earlier.
On these items, you have the option to exclude friends that are on lists.
This way, if there are certain interests, etc.
, that you don't want your work friends to know about, you can exclude that list from having access to that information.
Third, don't use 3rd party applications if you don't need to.
Applications and games can be fun, but they all want access to your information.
Many of them are probably fine since they know they will get kicked off Facebook if they use the information in ways they shouldn't, but it's hard to tell.
Alternatively, you can leave off the really personal stuff like your city and contact info - if it's not there, no one can get it.
Last, check back periodically - maybe every 3-4 months.
It's easy to get busy with your life and forget to add new friends to your lists or delete applications that you're not using anymore.
Keeping up with it on a regular basis will help ensure that everything stays the way you want it to.
And a final word about Pages vs.
Profiles.
If you have a Page set up for your business or organization, there are separate Privacy settings.
Go through them as well on a regular basis, but know that most of the information on a Page should be public since you are trying to promote something.
Leave your personal information on your Profile and only put public information on your Page.
People who are fans of your Page do not have access to your Profile unless they are also friends.
That's all there is to it! It should only take you 5-10 minutes to go through everything - maybe a little longer if you are creating new lists - and it's definitely worth the time to know that your information is protected.