With over 2 billion monthly active users, Facebook has become one of the most popular social media platforms for people to connect with friends, family, and others. However, with so much personal information being shared, it’s important to know how to lock down your Facebook profile for more privacy and security.
Why You Should Lock Your Facebook Profile
There are a few key reasons why you may want to lock up your Facebook profile:
- Prevent strangers from viewing your profile and posts
- Stop people you don’t know from sending friend requests or messages
- Limit the amount of personal information publicly visible
- Reduce chances of identity theft or stalking
- Overall enhanced privacy and peace of mind
While Facebook does have default privacy settings, taking the extra step to lock down your profile ensures you have total control over who sees what. This gives you greater protection and reduces the risks that come with having an open, public social media presence.
Step 1: Adjust Privacy Settings
The first step in locking your Facebook profile is to adjust your privacy settings. This controls the default visibility of your posts, profile info, friend list and more. Here’s how to update your privacy settings on both desktop and mobile:
On Desktop:
- Click the arrow in the top right and select “Settings & Privacy”
- Go to the “Privacy” section on the left menu
- Under “Privacy Settings,” click “Edit” next to “Who can see your future posts?”
- Change the setting from “Public” to “Friends” or a more restrictive group
- Click “Review All Settings” and go through each section to adjust as needed
On Mobile:
- Tap the three lines icon in the bottom right and select “Settings & Privacy”
- Tap “Settings” then scroll down and tap “Privacy”
- Tap “Privacy Checkup” and go through each section
- Adjust the visibility of future posts, profile info, contacts, etc.
Be sure to review all privacy sections and tighten up any default public settings. For maximum security, change visibility to “Only Me” where possible.
Step 2: Limit Old Posts and Past Activity
In addition to adjusting visibility of new activity, you also need to limit access to your old posts and past interactions on Facebook. Here are a few things to check:
- Limit Old Posts: Just like with new posts, go through your privacy settings and change the visibility of old posts to “Friends” or stricter.
- Review Activity Log: Scroll through your activity log and delete or hide any posts, likes, comments or other interactions you don’t want public.
- Disable Timeline Review: This stops others from being able to browse through your historical timeline posts and activity.
- Remove Tags: Delete any potentially embarrassing or unwanted tags of you by other users.
Scrubbing your past Facebook presence gives you a clean slate as you lock down settings moving forward.
Step 3: Tighten Up Your Friend List
Now it’s time to evaluate your connections. Having friends you don’t actually know or trust creates vulnerabilities. Here are some friend list best practices:
- Remove Strangers: Delete anyone you don’t personally know or interacts with regularly.
- Block Bothersome Friends: This stops them from viewing your profile or posts without fully unfriending.
- Acquaintances to Restricted: Move mere acquaintances from Friends to Restricted list.
- Organize Close Friends: Create friend lists like Close Friends and Family to tier access.
- Limit Apps: Revoke access to your info from suspect apps your connections may use.
Being selective about your friends and followers is key for profile security. Remember – quality over quantity.
Step 4: Manage Messages and Notifications
It’s not just your profile and posts that need locking down. Your inbox and notifications can also expose you to threats. Here are some key areas to address:
- Filter Message Requests: Automatically filter requests from non-friends to an alternate folder.
- Limit Email Notifications: Disable non-essential notifications to reduce chances of phishing.
- Block Unwanted Messages: Make liberal use of blocking capabilities for harassers or unwanted contacts.
- Review Third-Party Apps: Don’t authorize questionable apps that could spam your notifications.
- Beware of Phishing: Use extra caution before clicking on links or attachments in messages.
Your notifications and inbox can be easy access points for bad actors. Lock them down to close security gaps.
Step 5: Bolster Login and Account Security
Strengthening your core account security adds another barrier against unauthorized access. Some tips:
- Enable Two-Factor Authentication: Adds a second step to verify identity when logging in.
- Create a Strong Password: Use a long, complex password that’s unique from other accounts.
- Change Password Periodically: Update your password a few times a year as a precaution.
- Review Login Approvals: Check login alerts to watch for suspicious access attempts.
- Know Where You’re Logged In: Use the “Where You’re Logged In” feature to monitor active sessions.
Strengthening your credentials makes it much harder for someone else to access your account, even if they get past privacy settings.
Step 6: Limit Profile Visibility
Now that you’ve locked down privacy and security, you can focus on limiting general profile visibility. Here are a few more steps to make your profile undiscoverable:
- Search Privacy: Use search privacy settings to remove yourself from public lookups.
- Block Web Crawlers: Prevents search engines from indexing your profile in results.
- Protect Photos: Use options to prevent others from downloading or sharing your pics.
- Mobile Privacy: Enable options to stop your profile being visible to nearby strangers.
- Close Old Accounts: Delete or deactivate any old profiles you no longer use.
Every layer of visibility you eliminate reduces the potential for others stumbling upon your profile. Stay vigilant.
Step 7: Be Careful What You Share
Lastly, keep in mind it’s not just privacy settings that protect your privacy – it’s also your own behavior. Even a fully locked profile can be vulnerable if you overshare personal information. Some general guidelines:
- Don’t accept friend requests from strangers
- Think carefully before posting selfies, location tags, or other revealing details
- Limit use of third-party apps connected to your profile
- Never share passwords or login via public Wi-Fi networks
- Monitor tags from other users and untag yourself when needed
Following basic privacy hygiene reduces your exposure from the start, keeping your locked profile secure.
Conclusion
Locking your Facebook profile requires adjusting multiple privacy, security and visibility controls across the platform. Start with core privacy settings, work through past posts, friend connections, inbox messages and account access. Limit general discoverability across search engines and nearby browsers. Finally, exercise caution in what personal info you actively share and engage with on the platform. Putting safeguards in place takes time and diligence, but gives much greater protection and peace of mind for your Facebook presence.