How to Lock Down Facebook Privacy
Go to Facebook., Log in., Go to Settings., Go to Privacy., Set who can see your posts., Set who can send you friend requests., Set who can send you messages., Set who can look you up via email., Set who can look you up via phone., Set if you want...
Step-by-Step Guide
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Step 1: Go to Facebook.
Visit https://www.facebook.com/ from any web browser. -
Step 2: Log in.
Use your Facebook account and password to log in.
The login fields are found on the upper-right corner of the page.
Click the “Log in” button to proceed. , Inside your Facebook dashboard, go to the upper-right corner toolbar.
Click the last icon of a downward chevron.
Click on “Settings” from the menu, and you will be brought to the “General Account Settings” page. , From the left menu, click on the Privacy link.
You will be brought to the “Privacy Settings and Tools” page, which lists all the basic privacy questions to properly configure your settings. , The first question under “Who can see my stuff?” is “Who can see your future posts?” Click the Edit hyperlink beside the question, and then click the button that appears.
It’s a drop-down list that contains the generic groups or lists from Facebook and your own groups and lists.
Select the group of people who can see your posts by default from this list.
You can also customize your audience by selecting “Custom” from the drop-down list and filling up the fields on the pop-up window. , The next section under “Who can contact me?” has this question “Who can send you friend requests?” Click the Edit hyperlink beside the question, and then click the button that appears.
Select from the drop-down list between Everyone or Friends of friends.
This setting controls who can send you friend requests on Facebook. , The next question under “Who can contact me?” is “Whose messages do I want filtered into my Inbox?” Click the Edit hyperlink beside the question, and then select between “Basic Filtering” and “Strict Filtering.” If you set it to Strict Filtering, only your Facebook friends can send you messages. , The next section is “Who can look me up?” and the first question under it is “Who can look you up using the email address you provided?” Click the Edit hyperlink beside the question, and then click the button that appears.
Select from the drop-down list among Everyone, Friends of friends, or Friends.
This setting controls who can search for you using your email address. , The next question is “Who can look you up using the phone number you provided?” Click the Edit hyperlink beside the question, and then click the button that appears.
Select from the drop-down list among Everyone, Friends of friends, or Friends.
This setting controls who can search for you using your phone number. , The last question is “Do you want other search engines to link to your Timeline?” Click the Edit hyperlink beside the question, and remove tick from the “Let other search engines link to your timeline” check box if you don’t want search engines to find you. , Still under Settings, click on the Timeline and Tagging link from the left menu.
You will be brought to the “Timeline and Tagging Settings” page, which lists all the basic configurations related to your Timeline. , The first section is “Who can add things to my timeline?” and the first question is “Who can post on your timeline?” Click the Edit hyperlink beside the question, and then click the button that appears.
Select from the drop-down list between Friends and Only Me.
If you set this to Only Me, only you can post on your own Timeline.
This setting controls who can post on your Timeline. , The next question is “Review posts that friends tag you in before they appear on your Timeline?” Click the Edit hyperlink beside the question, and then click the button that appears.
Select between Enabled and Disabled.
If you set this to Enabled, all the posts and tags on your Timeline by your friends will require your active review and approval before getting posted on your Timeline.
Without your explicit approval, they will just appear under your Timeline Review and not be seen by anyone else. , The next section is “Who can see things on my timeline?” and the first question is “Who can see posts you've been tagged in on your timeline?” Click the Edit hyperlink beside the question, and then click the button that appears.
It’s a drop-down list that contains the generic groups or lists from Facebook and your own groups and lists.
Select the group of people who can see the posts you’ve been tagged in on your Timeline from this list.
You can also customize your audience by selecting Custom from the drop-down list and filling up the fields on the pop-up window. , The next question is “Who can see what others post on your timeline?” Click the Edit hyperlink beside the question, and then click the button that appears.
It’s a drop-down list that contains the generic groups or lists from Facebook and your own groups and lists.
Select the group of people who can see the posts on your Timeline from this list.
You can also customize your audience by selecting Custom from the drop-down list and filling up the fields on the pop-up window. , The last section is “How can I manage tags people add and tagging suggestions?” and the first question is “Review tags people add to your own posts before the tags appear on Facebook?” Click the Edit hyperlink beside the question, and then click the button that appears.
Select between Enabled and Disabled.
If you set this to Enabled, all tags made by others on your posts will need your active review and approval before the tags appear.
Once approved, the tags will appear and your posts may be visible on the tagged people’s Timelines. , Still under Settings, click on the Blocking link from the left menu.
You will be brought to the “Manage blocking” page, which lists all settings related to items getting blocked on Facebook. , Friends you add on your Restricted List can only see the information and posts you’ve made public.
These friends won’t know they’re on your Restricted list.
Click on the Edit List hyperlink beside the setting.
Type in the names of your friends you’d like to be added to this list.
This is a good way of restricting their access to your Timeline without hurting their feelings. , If you decide to block someone and totally remove any interaction with him on Facebook, you can block him.
Under the “Block users” section, type in the name or email address of the person you’d like to block in the “Block users” field and click on the Block button. , If you have a friend who constantly spams you with all kinds of app invites from different games he’s playing and prefer it to stop, you can block his app invites.
In the “Block invites from” field, type in the name of the person who spams you with app invites.
Your friend will still be able to see your Timeline and posts and interact with you on Facebook.
He just won’t be able to bug you with app invites. , If you have a friend who constantly sends you invites to different events and prefer it to stop, you can block his event invites.
In the “Block invitations from” field, type in the name of the person who keeps on inviting you.
Your friend will still be able to see your Timeline and posts and interact with you on Facebook.
You just won’t be able to receive any event invite from this person. , Apps can have access to your data on Facebook.
If you want to stop a specific app from doing so, you can block it.
In the “Block apps” field, type in the name of the app. , Still under Settings, click on the Apps link from the left menu.
You will be brought to the “App Settings” page, which lists all the apps you use within Facebook. , Click the tab titled “Logged in with Facebook” to see all your apps you’ve linked with your Facebook account.
The apps will be displayed with their respective app icons. , Each of these apps can be configured separately.
Hover over an app from the list and click on the pencil icon that will appear.
This will bring you to the app’s settings window. , This setting controls who can see that you use this particular app.
Click on the button beside it.
It’s a drop-down list that contains the generic groups or lists from Facebook and your own groups and lists.
Select the group of people who can see that you use this app from the list.
You can also customize your audience by selecting Custom from the drop-down list and filling up the fields on the pop-up window. , After App visibility, the next section reveals what data you share with this app.
The minimum data every app requires include: your public profile, your friend list, and your email address. , On the “Send you notifications” field, click the button beside it and select between Yes and No.
This setting controls if the app can send you notifications on Facebook. , If you want to remove a specific app, hover over the app form the list and click on the cross icon.
You will be presented with a confirmation window.
Click the “Remove” button to continue.
The app will immediately be removed from your list of apps and will not be able to access your data on Facebook anymore. -
Step 3: Go to Settings.
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Step 4: Go to Privacy.
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Step 5: Set who can see your posts.
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Step 6: Set who can send you friend requests.
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Step 7: Set who can send you messages.
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Step 8: Set who can look you up via email.
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Step 9: Set who can look you up via phone.
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Step 10: Set if you want search engines to link to your Timeline.
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Step 11: Go to Timeline and Tagging.
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Step 12: Set who can post on your Timeline.
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Step 13: Set if posts on your Timeline need to be review.
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Step 14: Set who can see posts you’ve been tagged in on your Timeline.
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Step 15: Set who can see others’ posts on your Timeline.
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Step 16: Set if tags on your posts need to be reviewed.
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Step 17: Go to Blocking.
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Step 18: Maintain the Restricted List.
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Step 19: Block users.
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Step 20: Block app invites.
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Step 21: Block event invitations.
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Step 22: Block apps.
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Step 23: Go to Apps.
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Step 24: View the apps.
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Step 25: Go to app settings.
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Step 26: Set app visibility.
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Step 27: View the info you provide to the app.
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Step 28: Allow app to send you notifications.
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Step 29: Remove an app.
Detailed Guide
Visit https://www.facebook.com/ from any web browser.
Use your Facebook account and password to log in.
The login fields are found on the upper-right corner of the page.
Click the “Log in” button to proceed. , Inside your Facebook dashboard, go to the upper-right corner toolbar.
Click the last icon of a downward chevron.
Click on “Settings” from the menu, and you will be brought to the “General Account Settings” page. , From the left menu, click on the Privacy link.
You will be brought to the “Privacy Settings and Tools” page, which lists all the basic privacy questions to properly configure your settings. , The first question under “Who can see my stuff?” is “Who can see your future posts?” Click the Edit hyperlink beside the question, and then click the button that appears.
It’s a drop-down list that contains the generic groups or lists from Facebook and your own groups and lists.
Select the group of people who can see your posts by default from this list.
You can also customize your audience by selecting “Custom” from the drop-down list and filling up the fields on the pop-up window. , The next section under “Who can contact me?” has this question “Who can send you friend requests?” Click the Edit hyperlink beside the question, and then click the button that appears.
Select from the drop-down list between Everyone or Friends of friends.
This setting controls who can send you friend requests on Facebook. , The next question under “Who can contact me?” is “Whose messages do I want filtered into my Inbox?” Click the Edit hyperlink beside the question, and then select between “Basic Filtering” and “Strict Filtering.” If you set it to Strict Filtering, only your Facebook friends can send you messages. , The next section is “Who can look me up?” and the first question under it is “Who can look you up using the email address you provided?” Click the Edit hyperlink beside the question, and then click the button that appears.
Select from the drop-down list among Everyone, Friends of friends, or Friends.
This setting controls who can search for you using your email address. , The next question is “Who can look you up using the phone number you provided?” Click the Edit hyperlink beside the question, and then click the button that appears.
Select from the drop-down list among Everyone, Friends of friends, or Friends.
This setting controls who can search for you using your phone number. , The last question is “Do you want other search engines to link to your Timeline?” Click the Edit hyperlink beside the question, and remove tick from the “Let other search engines link to your timeline” check box if you don’t want search engines to find you. , Still under Settings, click on the Timeline and Tagging link from the left menu.
You will be brought to the “Timeline and Tagging Settings” page, which lists all the basic configurations related to your Timeline. , The first section is “Who can add things to my timeline?” and the first question is “Who can post on your timeline?” Click the Edit hyperlink beside the question, and then click the button that appears.
Select from the drop-down list between Friends and Only Me.
If you set this to Only Me, only you can post on your own Timeline.
This setting controls who can post on your Timeline. , The next question is “Review posts that friends tag you in before they appear on your Timeline?” Click the Edit hyperlink beside the question, and then click the button that appears.
Select between Enabled and Disabled.
If you set this to Enabled, all the posts and tags on your Timeline by your friends will require your active review and approval before getting posted on your Timeline.
Without your explicit approval, they will just appear under your Timeline Review and not be seen by anyone else. , The next section is “Who can see things on my timeline?” and the first question is “Who can see posts you've been tagged in on your timeline?” Click the Edit hyperlink beside the question, and then click the button that appears.
It’s a drop-down list that contains the generic groups or lists from Facebook and your own groups and lists.
Select the group of people who can see the posts you’ve been tagged in on your Timeline from this list.
You can also customize your audience by selecting Custom from the drop-down list and filling up the fields on the pop-up window. , The next question is “Who can see what others post on your timeline?” Click the Edit hyperlink beside the question, and then click the button that appears.
It’s a drop-down list that contains the generic groups or lists from Facebook and your own groups and lists.
Select the group of people who can see the posts on your Timeline from this list.
You can also customize your audience by selecting Custom from the drop-down list and filling up the fields on the pop-up window. , The last section is “How can I manage tags people add and tagging suggestions?” and the first question is “Review tags people add to your own posts before the tags appear on Facebook?” Click the Edit hyperlink beside the question, and then click the button that appears.
Select between Enabled and Disabled.
If you set this to Enabled, all tags made by others on your posts will need your active review and approval before the tags appear.
Once approved, the tags will appear and your posts may be visible on the tagged people’s Timelines. , Still under Settings, click on the Blocking link from the left menu.
You will be brought to the “Manage blocking” page, which lists all settings related to items getting blocked on Facebook. , Friends you add on your Restricted List can only see the information and posts you’ve made public.
These friends won’t know they’re on your Restricted list.
Click on the Edit List hyperlink beside the setting.
Type in the names of your friends you’d like to be added to this list.
This is a good way of restricting their access to your Timeline without hurting their feelings. , If you decide to block someone and totally remove any interaction with him on Facebook, you can block him.
Under the “Block users” section, type in the name or email address of the person you’d like to block in the “Block users” field and click on the Block button. , If you have a friend who constantly spams you with all kinds of app invites from different games he’s playing and prefer it to stop, you can block his app invites.
In the “Block invites from” field, type in the name of the person who spams you with app invites.
Your friend will still be able to see your Timeline and posts and interact with you on Facebook.
He just won’t be able to bug you with app invites. , If you have a friend who constantly sends you invites to different events and prefer it to stop, you can block his event invites.
In the “Block invitations from” field, type in the name of the person who keeps on inviting you.
Your friend will still be able to see your Timeline and posts and interact with you on Facebook.
You just won’t be able to receive any event invite from this person. , Apps can have access to your data on Facebook.
If you want to stop a specific app from doing so, you can block it.
In the “Block apps” field, type in the name of the app. , Still under Settings, click on the Apps link from the left menu.
You will be brought to the “App Settings” page, which lists all the apps you use within Facebook. , Click the tab titled “Logged in with Facebook” to see all your apps you’ve linked with your Facebook account.
The apps will be displayed with their respective app icons. , Each of these apps can be configured separately.
Hover over an app from the list and click on the pencil icon that will appear.
This will bring you to the app’s settings window. , This setting controls who can see that you use this particular app.
Click on the button beside it.
It’s a drop-down list that contains the generic groups or lists from Facebook and your own groups and lists.
Select the group of people who can see that you use this app from the list.
You can also customize your audience by selecting Custom from the drop-down list and filling up the fields on the pop-up window. , After App visibility, the next section reveals what data you share with this app.
The minimum data every app requires include: your public profile, your friend list, and your email address. , On the “Send you notifications” field, click the button beside it and select between Yes and No.
This setting controls if the app can send you notifications on Facebook. , If you want to remove a specific app, hover over the app form the list and click on the cross icon.
You will be presented with a confirmation window.
Click the “Remove” button to continue.
The app will immediately be removed from your list of apps and will not be able to access your data on Facebook anymore.
About the Author
Susan Robinson
Susan Robinson is an experienced writer with over 9 years of expertise in lifestyle and practical guides. Passionate about sharing practical knowledge, Susan creates easy-to-follow guides that help readers achieve their goals.
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