Source: Dahia.com

Just because you set your Facebook privacy settings in the past, doesn’t mean your identity is safe today, at all.

Are you sure your info and photographs are hidden and safe from the public’s prying eyes?  

7 out of 10 people who made an effort to set their Facebook privacy settings this past year, have only blocked their basic profile information and are showing all or most of their photographs, according to a study by Kiwi Commons.

With the recent revamp of Facebook’s privacy settings, certain privacy aspects like your wall,  favourite activities and videos & photos you’ve uploaded or been tagged in, are now showing, even if you’ve previously set them to “friends only” or “hidden.” Now ‘everyone’, as in everyone on Facebook, can view that info (particularly your photographs). To be better safe than sorry, go back in and review those settings just in case.

“Way too many Facebook members have ‘blocked’ people from seeing their profile, but don’t have a clue that their entire photo gallery is wide open to the public,” says Ashley, a Kiwi Commons staff member. “All because they haven’t gone in and updated those settings and options.”

Why is my Info Unprotected?
The previous Facebook privacy settings update shook things up a bit. The updated settings are more intensive, in order to better protect your safety and identity, but some of the settings may have been revamped from what you have previously set, deeming them back to default status (so ‘everyone’ can see it again).

It will likely be more time consuming and a bit monotonous to trek through one-by-one, but if it saves you from strangers viewing your personal information, it’s worth it.

How Do I Review my  Facebook Privacy Settings?
Here’s a simple overview of how to access your privacy settings. See below for a link to a more intensive walkthrough.
1.) Click “Account” at the top right side of your profile page, and then “Privacy Settings.”

2) This is the main “Privacy Settings” page, broken down into 5 privacy settings sections. You will need to go through each section one-by-one.

Source: Cdn-write.demandstudios.com

3) Pay extra attention to the “Profile Info” section. There are 12 sub-sections to go through, but each contains a tidbit of your personal information, including your about you, contact info and wall posts.

Important Note:
You cannot completely turn off recent activity stories anymore. However, if you want to remove a specific story that currently shows up in your feed, simply click the “Remove” button that appears to the right of the story after you move your mouse over it. Think twice before you post.

Click here to see a more indepth guide on updating your Facebook privacy settings.

Posted in Internet Safety | facebook | |