Taking Back Your Privacy in Facebook

Each time Facebook changes the user interface to "enhance" the experience, they reset the defaults to Everyone" or "Enable."

For most items, the privacy levels you can choose from are: Everyone, Friends of friends, Friends Only, or Customize. Click "Customize" to select "Only Me" or to enter a Facebook user(s) you wish to hide the item from.

It can be hard to find where to customize a particular setting. As of today, here are instructions for securing your personal information in Facebook.

Information About Me and Who Can Contact Me

Click Account | Privacy Settings and under the first topic - "Basic Directory Information" - click View settings. Then customize what level of security or privacy you want for the following:

• Search for me on Facebook
• Send me friend requests
• Send me messages
• See my friend list
• See my education and work
• See my current city and hometown
• See my interests and other Pages

Things I Share: My Posts, Bio, Birthday, Views, Family, etc.

For another group of privacy settings, click Account | Privacy Settings and at the bottom of the box labeled "Sharing on Facebook," click Customize settings and select your settings for the following:

• Posts by me
• Family
• Relationships
• Interested in and looking for
• Bio and favorite quotations
• Website
• Religious and political views
• Birthday
• Places I check in to
• Include me in "People Here Now" after I check in
• Existing photos: At the bottom of this group, click Edit album privacy (for existing photos) to set a level of privacy for the photos or images you already have in your facebook account

Things Other Share: Photos, Videos, Commenting, Posting on My Wall

In this section you can set the privacy level for:

• Photos and videos I'm tagged in (from this point forward)
• Can comment on posts
• Friends can post to my Wall
• Friends can check me in to Places

Contact information

Here you specify who can see your:

• Mobile phone
• Other phone
• Address
• IM screen name
• Email address

Applications and Websites, Public Search, etc.

Some important settings are in the next group. Click Account | Privacy Settings and at the bottom left area of the window, under "Applications and Websites," click Edit your settings (for using applications, games, and websites). Set the privacy level for:

• Applications you use
• Info accessible through your friends
• Game and application activity
• Instant personalization
• Public search

The last two items, Instant personalization and Public search, are important settings if you value your privacy at all! It is a shame that the Facebook defaults are "Enable" and "Everyone."

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