Social media platforms like Facebook contain a wealth of personal information about users. As a result, many users want to ensure their data and privacy settings are configured properly. Facebook provides a privacy checkup tool to help users manage their privacy settings and control who can see their posts and profile information.
If you’ve previously gone through the Facebook privacy checkup process, you may find the tool is now locked or unavailable. Don’t worry – you can unlock privacy checkup and review your settings again. Here’s what to do.
What is Privacy Checkup on Facebook?
Facebook’s privacy checkup is an interactive tool that guides users through important privacy settings step-by-step. It allows you to configure who can see your future posts, review the personal information in your Facebook profile, and confirm which apps you’ve allowed to access your data.
Some key things you can do in privacy checkup include:
- Setting who can see your future posts to friends, friends except acquaintances, specific groups or lists of people, or only yourself.
- Reviewing profile information like your bio, featured photos, birthday, relationship status, contacts, and more.
- Checking which apps and websites are connected to your account via Facebook Login and removing any unwanted connections.
- Confirming your email address and primary contact information.
- Setting who can look you up with your contact info like phone number or email address.
The checkup walks through these categories one-by-one and lets you configure relevant privacy settings. Think of it as a one-stop-shop to manage your privacy and security on Facebook.
Why Would Privacy Checkup Be Locked?
In some cases, you may find that privacy checkup is locked or unavailable when you try to access it. There are a few reasons this can happen:
- You recently completed checkup – Facebook limits how often you can undergo the complete checkup process as a way to prevent abuse. You may have to wait a few months before doing it again.
- Your account was compromised – If Facebook detects suspicious activity that indicates your account was compromised, it may lock down certain features like privacy checkup temporarily.
- You’re under 18 – Minors may find privacy checkup is unavailable to simplify the privacy process.
- Country restrictions – Facebook may restrict access to privacy checkup for legal reasons in certain countries.
In most cases, waiting a while or securing your account is enough to unlock privacy checkup again. If you’re still unable to access the tool, you may need to request help from Facebook support.
How to Unlock Privacy Checkup on Facebook
If privacy checkup is locked for you, here are some things you can try to unlock it:
Wait 48 hours
One of the most common reasons checkup is locked is because you recently completed the process. Facebook allows you to fully run through checkup every few months as a precaution.
If it’s only been a day or two since you last used the tool, try waiting 48 hours and checking again. This is often enough time for the lock to expire.
Strengthen account security
If Facebook has detected suspicious activity that makes it think your account was compromised, privacy checkup may be locked until you take steps to secure your account.
Strengthening your login security is a smart precaution whether checkup is locked or not. Here are some things you can do:
- Change your Facebook password to something strong and unique.
- Enable two-factor authentication on your account.
- Review recently used devices and log out of any unknown sessions.
- Revoke app permissions for any apps you don’t use regularly.
Taking these steps shows Facebook your account is back under your control and should get checkup unlocked again.
Use privacy shortcuts
If you need to adjust privacy settings without access to full checkup, make use of Facebook’s privacy shortcuts. These let you quickly configure common settings like:
- Who can see your posts
- Who can send you friend requests
- Who can see your friends list
- Who can look you up with your phone number
While not as robust as the full privacy checkup, the shortcuts allow you to lock down your privacy without access to the tool.
Contact Facebook support
If you still can’t unlock privacy checkup after several days and securing your account, reach out to Facebook support. Describe the issue and steps you’ve taken already.
Facebook can look at the security logs for your account and determine if anything is restricting your access. There may be flags on your account that only Facebook can resolve. Their support team should be able to either unlock checkup or explain any restrictions.
Managing Privacy Without Checkup
If you need to adjust your privacy settings but privacy checkup remains locked, here are some alternative options:
Review account security settings
Under Security and Login in your Facebook settings, you can:
- Add two-factor authentication
- View login approvals
- Check where you’re logged in
- Change password
- Grant account recovery options
These are critical for locking down your account even without access to checkup.
Audit apps and websites
Visit App and Websites under settings. Here you can remove any unfamiliar apps connected via Facebook Login. This prevents unwanted data access.
Adjust individual privacy settings
Under the Privacy Shortcuts menu you can configure:
- Who can see your future posts
- Who can see your friends list
- Who can look you up with your phone number
- Who can send you friend requests
Tweak these to get key privacy settings how you want them.
You can also drill down into individual privacy setting menus:
Make any needed tweaks to these individual settings while checkup is unavailable.
Review profile information
You can still view and edit all the personal information in your Facebook profile without access to checkup. Just go to your profile and timeline to make updates.
Key things to review:
- Profile photo
- Cover photo
- Bio
- Featured photos and stories
- Relationship status
- Contact info
- Workplace and education
- Places lived
- Family members
- Life events
Scrub your profile to ensure it only shows information you want to be public.
Conclusion
Facebook’s privacy checkup makes it easy to manage your privacy and security settings in one place. If you find the tool locked or unavailable, just wait a few days, strengthen account security, or contact Facebook support to get it unlocked.
Even without access to privacy checkup, be sure to review account security options, app connections, individual privacy settings, and profile information to keep control over your Facebook activity and presence.