Below are some resources that will help you manage your privacy settings on your social networks.
According to Facebook, its “timeline” layout, enables you to “Control who sees your stuff… Only the people you originally shared a post with can see it on your timeline. If you want, you can go back and change who sees a post, delete it or just hide it from your timeline.” Nevertheless, Facebook’s timeline layout has caused several techie/social media types to write about privacy. Here are some helpful articles that show you how to set the privacy on your Facebook Timeline.
“Prep for Facebook’s Timeline Layout: 6 Must-Do Privacy Tweaks” by Ian Paul, PCWorld
Steps
(Visit the PCWorld article above for the full article and specific instructions.)
- Get Timeline
- Hide Old Posts
If you want to get rid of an old status update, photo, article link or like, go to the post on Timeline and hover over its top right corner. Click the pencil icon and select “Hide from Timeline.” - Check the Log
If you want to keep a post on your Timeline, but don’t want specific people to see it you can change an individual post’s settings using your Activity Log. Click on “Activity Log” underneath your Timeline cover photo to see a single page listing of all your Facebook activity organized by date. - Feature Old Posts
If you have a post you’d like to feature, such as a photo of a wedding or graduation, hover over the top right corner of the post again. This time, instead of the pencil, click the star icon and the post will stretch out to fill the width of Timeline’s main column. - Set Your Cover Photo
The top of your profile will now include a large photo called the cover photo that will be one of the first things people landing on your profile will see. You get to choose which photo you’d like to add there so take a few minutes to figure out what you’d like to put there. Keep in mind your cover photo is not private, so anyone on Facebook could potentially see it. - View as Public
After you’ve edited your Timeline, you may want to check what others will be able to see on your revamped profile. To do this click on the cog icon underneath your cover photo and select “View As…” from the drop down menu. This will automatically show you how your profile looks to the public and your subscribers if you have any.
More Recent Articles about Facebook’s Timeline and Privacy
“Facebook Timeline Looms: What You Need to Know,” by Christina DesMarais, PCWorld
“Facebook Timeline Privacy Tips: Lockdown Your Profile” by Sarah Jacobsson Purewal, PCWorld
“Facebook’s Timeline Is Going To Force You To Do Privacy Housekeeping” by Kashmir Hill, Forbes Staff
“Introducing New Apps for Timeline,” by by Carl Sjogreen, Facebook Blog
“Facebook’s Frictionless App Frenzy Will Make Your Life More Open” by Jason Gilbert, Huffington Post
Twitter and Protected Tweets
Twitter Help Center | About Public and Protected Tweets
(support.twitter.com/articles/14016)
When you sign up for Twitter, you have the option of keeping your Tweets public (the default account setting) or protecting your Tweets.
- Accounts with public Tweets have profile pages that are visible to everyone.
- Accounts with protected Tweets require manual approval of each and every person who may view that account’s Tweets. Only approved followers can view Tweets made on these accounts.
Google and Google+
Last week (Jan. 24), Google announced a new privacy policy and terms of service that take effect March 1. The Washington Post article, “Google tracks consumers’ online activities across products, and users can’t opt out,” provides an overview of Google products that will be affected by the policy change.
Nevertheless, Google, via its new policy, is saying that is still wants to “give users meaningful choices to protect their privacy.” You can view the new privacy policy at www.google.com/intl/en/policies/privacy/preview/.
While it’s a few months old (from July 2011), PCWorld’s Elsa Wenzel covers how to set Google+ privacy settings (stuff you share) via her video post at www.pcworld.com/article/235803/how_to_set_google_privacy_settings.html.
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