{"id":1026,"date":"2011-01-24T10:00:54","date_gmt":"2011-01-24T16:00:54","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/thepizzy.net\/blog\/?p=1026"},"modified":"2014-05-22T21:29:27","modified_gmt":"2014-05-23T02:29:27","slug":"configuring-your-facebook-profile-privacy-settings","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thepizzy.net\/blog\/2011\/01\/configuring-your-facebook-profile-privacy-settings\/","title":{"rendered":"Configuring your Facebook Profile Privacy Settings"},"content":{"rendered":"

By design, Facebook was created to let people share information with their friends. In the beginning, you had to have a school email address that was configured for the site, and so did your friends if they wanted to join. If you changed schools, you had to wait for that one to be added. If your friend changed schools, they had to wait. And the only way you could add friends from other schools is if one of the people you knew at that school had joined, so you could be linked together.<\/p>\n

\"FacebookI found this was the case when I left ETBU and joined UT, and then had to wait for ETBU to be added to the Facebook list of schools…and then wait for someone I knew at ETBU to join Facebook, and then add based on their friends list, and that person’s friends’ friends list. One individual opened up my network from just a hand full of people, to several hundred, because I was able to view that person’s friend list and branch out from there. And that was back when privacy was at the forefront of the design of Facebook.<\/p>\n

That is no longer the case today. Now, you have to take an active role in how you protect your information from people you don’t know, or who aren’t directly linked to you. This blog post will describe the steps I have taken to lock up my Facebook account so that my real information is not visible to anyone I don’t know in real life. So let’s get started…<\/p>\n

Privacy Settings: Everyone<\/h1>\n

Before applying any settings, the default display of information is something like this…<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Privacy Settings: Everyone<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

This is what your profile would look like if someone came upon your facebook.com\/username or facebook.com\/profile.php?id=###### page. Just take a look at the information it shows…all of your Likes, a listing of some friends, and the ability to contact you. And that’s just without logging in.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

And if you take the time to log in, you’ll be able to see everything in this picture below, plus the likes\/activities\/interests, contact information, and personal biography.<\/p>\n

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Privacy Settings: Everyone<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

In addition to all this, they can also see your Wall, Photos, Friends List, and follow any links you’ve provided on your profile to your other personal sites.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

So let’s start changing some things.<\/p>\n

Privacy Settings Configuration<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>There are several different layers to the Facebook Privacy Settings: Connecting, Sharing, Applications & Websites, and Block Lists. We’ll go from the top-down on the Privacy Settings page.\u00c2\u00a0Log into Facebook, go to\u00c2\u00a0Account <\/strong>in the top-right corner of the page, and choose\u00c2\u00a0Privacy Settings<\/strong>.\u00c2\u00a0Once, you’re there, you’ll be presented with a list of privacy categories. We’re going to start with Connecting on Facebook. Click the View Settings<\/strong> link for this category.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Privacy Settings > Connecting on Facebook<\/h2>\n

Facebook’s page will tell you the following:<\/p>\n

Your name, profile picture, gender, networks and username are available to everyone because this info is essential to helping you connect with your friends and family.<\/p>\n