When you think about how much information you provide social media apps — all of your photos, locations, contacts that you tag, information about purchases you’ve made — it’s surprising that privacy breaches don’t happen to more of us more often. Social media is one place where it pays to firm up your settings as best as possible to keep your data and privacy protected.
There are several ways you can better protect yourself on social media. Start by changing these three settings to protect your personal data.
Limit Your Account Information
When possible, don’t give social media apps every single detail about your personal life unless they require that information to set up your account. You’ll probably need to put in your birthdate and a few other details, but not everything is always required. The less data you give a site to begin with, the less data it has to potentially abuse.
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Turn Off Location
Don’t forget to turn off your location on your social media apps. Every time you post a photo or a cute message about the cool thing you’re doing, your followers needn’t know your exact location. Limiting the location information you share can help keep your better protected.
Don’t Accept Every Friend Request
Be mindful about the friend requests you receive and vet everyone — twice. Oftentimes, people are hacked on sites like Facebook and you may get duplicate requests from them. If something looks suspicious, it’s worth asking that person before accepting a request and leaving yourself open to a possible hacking attempt. And never accept requests from people you don’t know, especially if they look too good to be true. That astronaut doctor that requested your friendship is probably not all they seem.
