Take Control of your Facebook security & privacy settings: step by step

Revised 2009/10/7.
What Changed?
While this is primarily in response to Facebook's new beta Publisher (their name for how content is shared), it is also good practice to understand and control how your info is shared and used within and external to Facebook. As of 6/24/09 only those who had previously ‘chose to set their profile and status privacy to "Everyone"’ are affected by this new policy and it is unknown yet when it rollout to all others. The “Transition Tool” for the new beta Publisher looks somewhat different than what is presented here but Facebook has stated “we've designed the Transition Tool to respect previous decisions to limit access to information.” So, if you correct it now it will probably stay correct.

What does it mean?
In a nutshell, I believe, anything set to "Everyone" will soon mean the WHOLE WORLD WIDE WEB, so we have to ensure we don't have that setting anywhere, and it's probably a good time to check everything else. Also “Networks” can be counter to your privacy as some can be vary large – although as of 6/2/09 they started phasing out “Regional” Networks (such as “Los Angeles, CA” although my membership still exists as of 10/7/09), so just Work, College and High School networks remain – each has specific criteria for joining.

Privacy Control
Facebook allows you finely control how many aspects of your information or content is shared.  It does this by allowing you to specify "Who can see this?"  "Who" can be anywhere between "No One" and "Everyone" available in the following ways - not all of which are available in all cases (as quoted from Facebook) or are available through the "Customize..." option:

• "Everyone: Anyone, on or off, of Facebook can see it." This is the setting we need to avoid!
• "Friends and (All of My) Networks: People you have confirmed as friends and people in any school or work networks that you've joined can see it."
• All of My Networks: people in any school or work networks that you've joined can see it.
• Some of My Networks: people in selected school or work networks that you've joined can see it.
• None of My Networks: unless they are otherwise friends (and allowed in some way), no people in any school or work networks that you've joined can see it.
• "Friends of Friends: Anyone who is friends with a friend of yours can see it."
• Some Friends: Select individual Friends or Lists can see it.
• "Only Friends: Only people you have confirmed as friends can see it."
• Only Me: Yup, only you can see it.
• No one: Not sure how this is different from "Only Me".
• Except These People: No selection of friend or friend list can see it.

In almost all cases, I would suggest selecting either “Only Friends” or “Friends of Friends”.  You may consider a more complex control by using the ”Customize...” option and then narrowly allowing access.

Profile Privacy Settings

1. Hover over Settings (top right of screen)
2. Click Privacy Settings
3. Click Profile
4. Basic tab (default)

For each item, look at the brief description shown when you click on the “[?]” to the right of each item, then decide who can see this by selecting from the availble options. Personally, I have all mine set to just "Friends".

Click Save Changes (bottom, don't forget!)

1. Click Contact Information tab

For each item decide who can see this by selecting from the availble options. Personally, I have all mine set to just "Friends" except for Email address which I have set to "Only Me"

Click Save Changes (bottom, don't forget!)

Photo Album Privacy Settings

1. Hover over Settings (top right of screen)
2. Click Privacy Settings
3. Click Profile
4. Basic tab (default)
5. Click Edit Photo Album Privacy Settings (middle, under "Photos Tagged of You")

Review each album and decide who can see this by selecting from the availble options. Pay attention to "Wall Photos" and "Mobile Uploads" which are created automatically.

Click Save Changes (bottom, don't forget!)

Search Privacy Settings

1. Hover over Settings (top right of screen)
2. Click Privacy Settings
3. Click Search

Review each item and decide who can see this by selecting from the availble options.  Here's some additional guidance on what these items mean:

• Search Visibility (for Facebook users): this is your own choice: be found, or hidden?
• Search Result Content: Select the items you'd like anyone who isn't a Friend to see if they find you in a search.  Consider deselecting "Pages I am a fan of" - are you a fan of any pages you don't want to be public?
• Public Search Listing: for outside of Facebook, meaning the whole Web.  The resulting page will look as specified under "Search Result Content":

Note: At the end of "Create a public search listing for me and submit it for search engine indexing" open the "see preview" link in another browser to see what this looks like.

Click Save Changes (bottom, don't forget!)

News Feed and Wall Privacy Settings

1. Hover over Settings (top right of screen)
2. Click Privacy Settings
3. Click News Feed and Wall
4. Actions within Facebook tab (default)

Review each item and select those you'd wish to show up in other's News Feeds, your friend's Home Pages, and your Wall. These are your choice.

Click Save Changes (bottom, don't forget!)

1. Click Facebook Ads tab

Review each item and decide who can see this by selecting from the availble options. Here's some additional guidance on what these items mean:

• Allow ads on platform pages to show my information to: Set to "No One". This is an interesting setting as currently it does nothing because "Facebook does not give third party applications or ad networks the right to use your name or picture in ads. If this is allowed in the future, this setting will govern the usage of your information."  Facebook has removed some Advertising networks who were in violation of their policies.  I believe a common example of these were those "(your friend Bob)'s  is 134 - What's your IQ?" (with Bob's picture) ads.

Click Save Changes (right under this setting - there's two "Save Changes" on this page!)

• Show my social actions in Facebook Ads to: Set to "No One". The distinction between these two settings is easily misunderstood: the second ("... Facebook ...") will only show you are a Fan of something that is being advertised.

Click Save Changes (bottom, don't forget!)

Application Privacy Settings

1. Hover over Settings (top right of screen)
2. Click Privacy Settings
3. Click Applications
4. Overview tab (default)

You'll probably want to read this, but good luck with that!

1. Click Settings tab

Review each item and decide who can see this by selecting from the availble options. Here's some additional guidance on what these items mean:

• What Other Users Can See via the Facebook Platform: UNcheck all those, except perhaps (your choice) Profile Picture and Basic Info (click on the "What's this?" link for more info).
• Facebook Connect Applications: UNcheck.  This is an offshoot from Beacon (below) and allows 3rd party sites to share your profile data. More info here.
• Beacon Websites: UNcheck. This nasty little privacy disaster resulted in a class-action lawsuit and will be shut down.

Click Save Changes (bottom, don't forget!)

Application Permisions

1. Hover over Settings (top right of screen)
2. Click Applicaon Settings
3. From the "Show" drop-down select "Authorized"

This shows ALL of your apps I believe. I have over 360!

FOR EACH application, you can "Edit Settings", see it's "Profile", or delete it "X". Typical settings - they vary by appication:

• Profile tab / Box: Control whether this app is "Available" to be or has been “Added” to your Profile to displayed in a “box”.
• Profile tab / Tab: Control whether this app is "Available" to be or has been “Added” to your Profile to displayed in a “tab”.
• Profile tab / Info Section: Control whether this app is "available" to be or has been “added” to your Profile to displayed in the “Info Section”.
• Profile tab / Privacy: defines who can see the Box or Tab. Does NOT matter (I believe) if neither are "Added"
• Bookmark tab / Bookmark …: I believe "Bookmark" is for your own convenience only.
• Additional Permissions tab / Access my data even when I'm not using the application: your choice.
• Additional Permissions tab / Publish recent activity (one line stories) to my wall: your choice.
  

Click Okay (to save)

That was easy, wasn't it!!

See the next article in this series: Facebook Privacy using Friend Lists.

Question & Answer

Q. When is the new beta Publisher in effect?
A. As soon as you see the "lock symbol" to the left of the "Share" button (for the "What's on your mind?" status question)

Q. What will change?
A. Two things: 1) The "Everything" security setting will then mean "Everyone: Anyone, on OR OFF, of Facebook can see it.", and 2) you can change the security setting of your wall post PER ITEM.

Q. Will they change any of our security settings?
A. I don't believe so, BUT, once you see that "lock symbol", double check!