Customer Reports has no financial relationship with advertisers on this site.
Consumer Reports has no monetary relationship with marketers on this website.
For several years, Facebook has directed users with issues about their individual information to the platform’s privacy settings. But Facebook’s settings provide criticism themselves.
In May, Consumer Reports reported that some users never got a facial acknowledgment setting revealed in 2017. The Federal Trade Commission cited our findings in its announcement of a multifaceted settlement versus Facebook that included a $5 billion fine last July, and the company promised a fix in early September.
That was hardly the very first controversy surrounding Facebook’s privacy settings, and years of scandals have shaken lots of users’ confidence in Facebook.
In a nationally representative study of more than 2,000 U.S. grownups, 74 percent of Facebook account holders informed CR they had altered their habits in some method due to personal privacy concerns raised by the scandals.
Forty-four percent said they had revised their personal privacy settings, and about 4 in 10 said they had actually cut down on social media use or been more careful about posting, commenting, and seeing content.
Facebook has made some updates to its settings, consisting of the launch overseas of a long-awaited Clear History tool that hasn’t yet been presented in the United States.
Here are almost a lots approaches Facebook users can employ to limit location tracking, turn off facial acknowledgment, and more. Many of the instructions listed below are for a computer system internet browser, but the actions are comparable on a phone internet browser or in the mobile app.
Keep Your Locations to Yourself
When you use the Facebook mobile app, whether you’re scrolling through your news feed, tagging a family picture on the Golden Gate Bridge, or simply leaving the app idling in the background, the business can collect data about your location to utilize in targeting advertisements.
You can’t prevent the business from utilizing info such as your network connection to approximate your location. But the most accurate sources of location data can be managed through your gadget’s location services settings. If you withdraw the Facebook app’s area approvals, the info available to the company will be less precise.
On an iPhone: Go to the phone’s Settings > > Privacy > > Place Services > > Facebook. Click either While Using the App or Never.
On an Android phone: Go to the phone’s Settings > > Personal Privacy > > Approvals manager > > Place > > Facebook. Click on Enable just while utilizing the app or Deny. (These directions may vary a little depending upon what phone you have.)
Just the most recent variation of Android offers the “only while using the app” choice, and it isn’t available on every Android phone. Users with an older variation of Android can access a setting within the Facebook app itself to avoid the business from accessing place services when you aren’t utilizing the app. In the Facebook app: Tap the icon with the 3 lines in the leading right > > Settings & & Personal Privacy > Personal Privacy Shortcuts > Handle your place settings > > Place Gain access to. Change the toggle for Background Location to Off.
Switch Off Facial Acknowledgment
In 2017, Facebook introduced a personal privacy setting that enables users to erase facial recognition information the company has gathered and to pull out of any systems that use the technology. Almost 18 months later on, Consumer Reports discovered that the Face Recognition setting was missing out on for some users.
Facebook says facial acknowledgment is a helpful tool for tagging pals in pictures and other functions such as finding fake accounts. According to a Facebook spokesperson, the business isn’t selling facial recognition data or using it for targeted ads.
Privacy experts say there are other ways that biometric data could ultimately be utilized. “Facebook has invested a lot in facial acknowledgment,” says Justin Brookman, the director of consumer personal privacy and technology policy for Customer Reports, “and it’s exploring ways to get a return on that financial investment.”
CR found that Facebook users who are missing out on the newer Face Acknowledgment setting have access to an older setting called “Tag Suggestions.” After we released our article, the business told CR that the two settings really do the exact same thing. When you shut off either setting, Facebook will delete the facial recognition data it has actually gathered, and opt you out of any functions that use the innovation.
In September 2019, Facebook promised to present the Face Acknowledgment setting to everyone, but some accounts we have actually looked at still do not have it. Here’s how to shut off Face Recognition if you have it– and a workaround if you don’t.
On a computer system: Click the concern mark on top right of your Facebook web page and pick Privacy Shortcuts > > Control Face Recognition > > Edit > >
No. If you do not have the Face Recognition setting, you should still have the ability to turn off Tag Suggestions.
On a computer: Click the downward arrow at the leading right of your Facebook page and select Settings > > Timeline and Tagging > > Select “Who sees tag recommendations when pictures that appear like you are uploaded?” > >
No One. Limitation Data Collection by Facebook’s Partners
The Facebook Login function is a quick and easy method to sign in to other sites and apps. In exchange, Facebook gets to gather a bit more of your personal information. It also provides the business that provide those outdoors services access to account info, including your name, photo, email address, and other data visible to the general public by default.
That might consist of schools you participated in, workplaces, Facebook comments published on other websites, and “likes.”
In the wake of the Cambridge Analytica scandal in 2018, Facebook withdrew this gain access to from any third-party app that users had not logged in to for 90 days.
“It’s a good modification,” says Brookman. “Nevertheless, as the Cambridge Analytica scandal revealed, once a 3rd party currently has your information, it’s truly difficult to know what happens to it.”
It may be impossible to find and delete personal info collected by other business in the past, however you can see which apps are presently collecting data from your account and stop them. You will no longer have the ability to gain access to these apps using your Facebook Login, so you might want to create a brand-new login and password for each app prior to making modifications.
On a computer system: Click the down arrow at the top right of your Facebook page and choose Settings > > Apps and Sites > > Active > Click package beside the app’s name > >
Get rid of. Safeguard Your Account From Hackers
It’s an excellent concept to utilize two-factor authentication to support the password on any digital account that provides it. This is especially essential if you’ve ever utilized the same password on more than one account, or tend to utilize substandard passwords. (Consumer Reports has professional suggestions for producing good passwords.)
When you turn on two-factor authentication in Facebook’s settings, the company will send you a confirmation code– through text or app– to validate your identity when you access your account from an unverified place, device, or web browser.
“That makes it much harder for somebody to breach your account with a stolen password,” states Bobby Richter, who oversees CR’s privacy screening.
Facebook has actually misused this innovation. In 2018, researchers found that Facebook might utilize telephone number gathered for two-factor authentication for marketing functions. And more just recently, security specialists saw that Facebook allows other users to search for your profile utilizing those numbers, too.
“This kind of news erodes consumers’ trust in a security system we’re all beginning to depend on,” Richter says. “But we still advise that you utilize two-factor authentication, since it’s one of the finest ways to safeguard your account.”
If Facebook already has your contact number, follow the guidelines listed below so that strangers can’t use it to discover your page. If you have not offered Facebook your number yet, you can use a dedicated app such as Google Authenticator or Duo Mobile for two-factor authentication rather, Richter states. They’re simple to establish. On a computer: Go to Settings > > Security and Login > > Usage two-factor authentication > >
Begin. Make Your Page Harder to Discover
The default settings on Facebook allow your user profile to appear in any Google search that includes your name. But you can change the settings to make your profile less Google-able. And while you’re at it, you can likewise set limits on who can send you good friend demands and look you up using the e-mail address or phone number tied to your account.
On a computer: Go to Settings > > Privacy > > Do you desire online search engine outside of Facebook to connect to your profile? > > Edit > > Click the check box on the bottom > > Switch off. On the exact same page, select “Who can look you up utilizing the phone number you provided?” > > Buddies. Do the same for “Who can look you up utilizing the email address you provided?”
Limitation Who Sees Your Profile, Photos, and Posts
It can be enjoyable to share the details of your life with household members and good friends, but it’s less amusing to serve up that information to lawbreakers who comb Facebook pages for personal information to utilize in identity-theft scams. If you leave your details open up to the public, anyone can find your birthdate, mother’s first name, and passion for poodles.
Each time you publish a brand-new image, video, or status upgrade, Facebook’s user interface gives you the option to keep the news amongst your buddies. You can even leave out specific buddies, like, say, your employer or that meddlesome next-door neighbor.
It’s simple to go back to your old posts and make particular you’re not sharing telltale information with people you don’t know, and immediately change the audience so that your future posts are more personal by default.
On a computer system: Go to Settings > > Privacy > > Select “Who can see your future posts?” > > Edit. Then on the exact same page, scroll down to Limitation Past Posts.
Stop Your ‘Likes’ From Becoming Advertisements
You have actually probably seen Facebook advertisements that list your friends’ names: “So-and-so likes …” That’s due to the fact that Facebook lets advertisers use your name and products you “like”– Woman Scout cookies, Starbucks coffee, Ford trucks– in ads pitched to individuals in your network. However just since you more than happy with your Casper bed-in-a-box bed mattress does not suggest you need to publicly endorse it. Here’s how to keep your name off those advertisements.
On a computer: Go to Settings > > Advertisements > > Advertisement Settings > > Advertisements That Include Your Social Actions > >
No One. Limit Facebook From Tracking Your Activity on Other Sites
Facebook’s data collection doesn’t stop when you leave the platform. If you have actually ever checked out a site that uses Facebook services– Like and Share buttons, Facebook Login, or the business’s analytics tools– you’ve offered info on the stories you’ve read, the videos you have actually seen, and the items you’ve seen and put in an online shopping cart.
“If those buttons are on the page, regardless of whether you touch them, Facebook is gathering information,” says Casey Oppenheim, co-founder of the digital security company Disconnect.
How do you put a stop to that information collection? Well, there’s no foolproof method to do that– and no chance at all through Facebook’s settings. You can, nevertheless, install an ad obstructing extension such as Disconnect, Ublock, or Privacy Badger on your internet browser to interfere with Facebook’s efforts to track you online.
The Mozilla Foundation, the not-for-profit organization behind the Firefox internet browser, has designed an advertisement blocker specifically for this job. It’s called Facebook Container, and it uses a distinct internet browser tab to wall the social networks platform off from the rest of your online activity.
It takes just a couple of clicks to install the Facebook Container extension. The directions are easy to discover online.
(Customer Reports utilizes Facebook’s services, too. For information on the information we gather, consult our personal privacy policy.)
Limit Facebook’s Siblings From Tracking Your Activity
Changing your Facebook settings is a fantastic primary step toward protecting your personal privacy. The apps on your phone and the services you utilize online unify to form an entire information community, and you need to take the entire picture into account.
If you utilize other services that Facebook owns such as Instagram and WhatsApp, lock down your settings on those products, too. (And, now that you’re on a roll, think about doing the very same for other services like Google, and even LinkedIn.)
“There’s a lots of recommendations about personal privacy out there, and it can get frustrating,” Richter says. “But the crucial thing is to be skeptical– keep personal privacy in the back of your mind when you’re using digital services. Every bit of effort you take is a step in the ideal instructions.”
Perform a Little Crowd Control
As the fallout from the Cambridge Analytica scandal showed, individuals on your friends list can jeopardize your personal privacy– often without even understanding it.
While Facebook closed the policy loophole that allowed that particular data leakage in 2014, there are a lot of other methods good friends can let you down– by posting inappropriate content, for instance, or falling for frauds that allow accounts to be hacked.
That’s why it’s finest not to preserve Facebook “friendships” with people you do not truly know (e.g., your buddy’s sibling’s tai chi trainer). Facebook does not make it easy to erase large groups of pals. You need to go to your Facebook profile, choose individuals to dismiss one at a time, hover over a drop-down menu, and choose Unfriend.
To make the process a little much easier, consider utilizing the “birthday technique.” When you log in to Facebook each day, click on the world at the top of the page, examine the birthday notifications, and for each one decide whether to send out well wants or to silently unfriend people you want to part with. This can help you keep your account more safe.
Protecting Your Online Personal Privacy
It doesn’t matter if you’re on your phone or your laptop computer, your individual details can leave a digital trail of where you browse the web. On the “Customer 101” TELEVISION program, Customer Reports’ professional Thomas Germain discusses to host Jack Rico what to do to protect your online personal privacy.
Customer Reports is an independent, nonprofit organization that works side by side with consumers to create a fairer, much safer, and much healthier world. CR does not endorse product and services, and does decline marketing. Copyright © 2019, Customer Reports, Inc.
.
