How to Secure Facebook

Simple tips on how to secure Facebook and keep your account and personal details private.

We've outlined some of the most popular scams and hoaxes on Facebook, but sadly not all threats are quite so harmless. If you’re going to share intimate details of your life on Facebook, it’s important to consider who can see what you’re posting. Follow our tips to below to make sure your Facebook account is secure from threats that come in all shapes and forms.



The best way to see what you’re publicly sharing is to put yourself in someone else's shoes. Go to your profile page, tap the three dots icon on your cover photo and choose View as. By default you will see your Facebook profile as seen by a random member of the public, but you can also click ‘View as specific person’. If you’re not happy with what you see, follow the tips below to secure your Facebook profile.
It’s also worth checking out Facebook Privacy Basics for a real beginner’s step-by-step guide to Facebook security.
See More:

• How to Use Messenger without Facebook
• Most Common Facebook Scams (& How To Avoid Them)
• How to stop Facebook autoplaying video and sound
• How to use Facebook Reactions
• How to use Facebook Stories
• How to make a Facebook poll
• How to Read Facebook Messages in Secret

Don't accept all Facebook friend requests

If you don’t know them, don’t add them. Simple. It’s worth going through your friends list every so often and weeding out all the randoms - who knows how they got there.

Watch what your kids are doing on Facebook

Facebook has an age limit of 13 years, but it’s easy to get around and even 13-year-olds need protecting online. If you have a young child using Facebook, check that they know who they are talking to, that those people really are who they say they are, and that what they are saying is appropriate - cyberbullies, pedos and groomers are not something you want your child to experience.

Consider what you post to Facebook

Have you ever read someone’s posts every day on Facebook but walked past them in the street and not even acknowledged them? If the answer to that question is not yes then you’re in the minority.
Not everyone who views your profile is your friend, and not all can be trusted with your most intimate personal details.
One that really bugs us is the airport check-in posts. We might well be jealous that you’re off to soak up the sun for a week, but we won’t be jealous when you return to find your home ransacked and your irreplaceable personal belongings gone.

Share Facebook posts privately

Ensure your profile is locked down so that only approved friends see what you share. To do so, open Facebook and click on the downward triangle at the top right corner of the page and choose Settings. Under the privacy tab you’ll find an option for who can see your future posts. Click Edit and choose Friends, or choose More Options to select a custom list.
This is a global setting, but you can also specify who can see individual posts. Before you hit Post on a new status, click the three dots to the right of the Feeling/Activity button, then from the drop-down menu that appears select Friends or select More Options to specify a custom list.

Secure old Facebook posts

That takes care of future posts, but what about those you shared before you became concerned about Facebook privacy? Still in Settings, Privacy, Who can see my stuff is an option to ‘Limit the audience for posts you’ve shared with friends of friends or public?’ Set this to ‘Limit Past Posts’.

Secure Facebook posts you're tagged in

Facebook is a social network, which means it’s not all about what you do but also what your friends do. And they can tag you in all sorts of stuff that will be visible to all on your profile and in the News feed - if you let them.

Open Settings, Timeline and Tagging and carefully check each option here. You can control who can post on your timeline, who can see posts you’ve been tagged in and even set Facebook to gain your approval before the tag is applied.

Hide your phone number on Facebook

Facebook mobile nags and nags until you add your phone number to the service, but you don’t necessarily want that information to be visible to all who view your profile.
Open the drop-down for 'Who can look you up using the phone number you provided' under Settings, Privacy, How can people find and contact me. You can do the same for your email address above.

Block people on Facebook

Having followed the above steps your Facebook profile will be reasonably secure from people not in your friends list. But it’s the ones you do know that could become an issue.
To block a Facebook member from being able to see your profile, go to Settings, Blocking and add their name under Block users. Click Block to save the change.
You can also block existing friends by visiting their profile, tapping the three dots icon on their cover photo and choosing Block.