Day 20
Clean Up Social Network Privacy Pt 2: Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Other Accounts
DAY 20: Clean Up Social Network Privacy Pt 2: Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Other Accounts
Welcome to Day 20 of my 30 day security challenge, the month long challenge I created to help you gain control of your privacy and security online. You can follow along with the security challenge via my blog at snubsie.com, where you can skip ahead or download a checklist of the challenge. Each video will also be curated into a playlist so it'll be easy to follow along from Day 1 all the way through 30 here on Youtube.
Today is all about cleaning up your social network security and privacy part 2! Today we're going to look at Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn.
Let's start with Facebook. Log into your facebook account and click on the little question mark in the top right corner and go to privacy checkup. From here, go through each step and make the options more private. First is posting defaults - set those to Friends or Friends except aquaintances or whatever list you specify. Next, remove any third party apps that shouldn't be connected. You shoulda already done this a few days ago. Next is to update your profile data and change your details to either only me, friends, or friends except aquaintances. Next, head over to the https://www.facebook.com/settings/?tab=privacy Privacy Tab and update each of these settings. Do the same for the Timeline and Tagging section, ensuring that only folks that you trust have access to any information, or even better - only YOU have that access. If it doesn't need to be on Facebook and you can delete it, remove the data.
Under Security and Login, you can choose three friends who are trusted contacts that can help you get back into your account if it's ever locked out. View the "Where Youre logged in" list and delete any devices you don't recognize. Under Login, change your password if necessary then turn off profile picture login. Next, turn on notifications about login attempts and turn on two factor authentication if you haven't already. Now under Mobile, remove any old phone numbers associated with your account. Under Public Posts, update your privacy settings accordingly. Lastly, under Payments, delete any credit card data that doesn't need to be on facebook. Also, if you feel like learning more about Facebook's privacy and security settings, you can read more at: https://www.facebook.com/about/basics.
Now for Instagram, which is owned by Facebook. Log into your account and click on Edit Profile to get to https://www.instagram.com/accounts/edit/. If you aren't using your Instagram for business, you probably want to keep it private. On the edit profile page, uncheck "Similar Account Suggestions" so you don't show up in public feeds. Change your password on the next page if you need to, then go to Authorized Apps to revoke access to any apps you don't need or recognize. Click on Comments to hide anything inappropriate. From the Instagram App, click the three little dots in the top right corner on your profile page. Under the Photos of You option, change it to Add manually or Hide Photos. Under Story, allow message replies from just People You Follow or turn it to off. And turn off Allow Sharing. Next, turn on Two Factor Authentication, then under Business settings (if you have an instagram business account), delete any credit cards you don't need. Under Linked Accounts, remove any accounts by clicking on them and choosing Unlink. Under Comments, you can block or allow comments from specific users. You can also hide offensive material with the settings under this section. Then, at the bottom of the settings page, click on Clear Search History and click Yes, I'm Sure. Lastly, go through your Instagram follow lists and delete anyone you don't want to continue following, or anyone who follows you on a private account, and remove any old photos off your Instagram that you don't feel comfortable with.
Last for today is LinkedIn. Log into your account and choose the small picture of you with Me written under it. Click and choose Settings and Privacy. Under Basics, change your password. Under Privacy, delete or remove any settings that don't work well with your privacy in mind. At the bottom of this list, turn on 2 factor authentication. Lastly under Communications, change who can message you, and what kind of messages you'd prefer to receive.
Now that you've spent two days curating your social networks, it's time to take that knowledge to the next level. Go through other websites and see what kind of data they're tracking or saving about you. Delete as much as you can, from whichever websites you're able to.
Day 20 is now complete! Tomorrow is all about finding out if you've been in a website breach. But first, make sure to subscribe on youtube and hit up snubsie.com for the downloadable checklist and to skip ahead on the 30 day security challenge. Again, I'm Shannon Morse and I'll see you tomorrow for day 21!