The Complete Guide to Facebook Account Security and Privacy 2016: Part 2

In the first part, I talked about the Security and Privacy sections in Facebook account settings.

Now, I will move on to the remaining sections.

Timeline and Tagging Settings

This section allows you to set some other privacy settings for your Facebook account. Here you can choose who can add things to your timeline, who can see posts you share on your timeline and how to manage tagging options.

Who can add things to my timeline?

This option allows you to choose who can post to your timeline and also option to review a post you are tagged in before it can appear on your timeline.

Who can see things on my timeline?

This option allows you to have a look at your timeline as some other person and review what they can see on your timeline.
Here you can also select who sees posts you have been tagged in on your timeline and choose who sees what others post on your timeline. In the last two cases, it would be advisable to set these options to Friends.
How can I manage tags people add and tagging suggestions?

Using this option, you will be able to check the tags friends add to your photos before they appear. This one is a very important privacy option because if someone adds a tag to your post, his/her entire list of friends will see your post. Here you can also choose who all to add to the audience of a post when you are tagged in it and who should see tag suggestions when photos looking like you are uploaded.

Blocking Settings

In the Blocking section, you can restrict the way other Facebook users, apps and pages interact with you.

Restricted List

This list can be used to restrict specific people from seeing your posts on your timeline but they will still be able to see your public posts or your posts on a mutual friend’s timeline and the posts that they are tagged in.

Block Users

The people you add to this list cannot see your timeline, cannot tag you, invite you, chat with you and add you as a friend.

Block Messages

Here you can block someone from contacting you via chat on Facebook or Messenger.

Block app invites

Here you can set it to automatically ignore any app requests from someone in future.

Block event invites

Here you can do the same for event invites to ignore invites from someone in future.

Block apps

Here you can block apps so that they can’t contact you in future.

Block Pages

Once you block a Page, that Page can no longer interact with your posts or like or reply to your comments. You’ll be unable to post to the Page’s Timeline or message the Page. If you currently like the Page, blocking it will also unlike and unfollow it.

Mobile Settings

This is one of the most important security settings for your Facebook account. To enable Login Approvals, you need to enter your mobile phone number here. If your browser is not recognized, you will receive a code via SMS to login to your Facebook account.

Apps

Here you can see which all 3rd party apps have access to your information and you can remove it from the list, in case you don’t use it anymore or if it is found suspicious. Also, here you will find options to set privacy for content posted using old versions of Facebook app and option to control what info about you can other bring with them to an app they use.

Ads

Ads based on my use of websites and apps

If you turn On this option, Facebook will track your behaviour online and show you ads similar to your interests.
For example, if you visited the Facebook page of a restaurant nearby, you will most likely see an ad of that restaurant prominently in your sidebar after that.
If you prefer to not get tracked, turned this option Off.

Ads on apps and websites off of the Facebook Companies

This option decided whether these preferences also apply to other websites and apps of the Facebook companies.

Ads with my social actions

This option lets you choose who can see your social actions on ads. For example, if you like a certain Facebook page from the ad shown to you, then your friend will see the same ad paired with “<your friend> likes this”. If you turn this to No One, then no one will be able to see your social actions paired with ads.

Ads based on my preferences

This provides a tool to set your preferences for Facebook ads which will be used to show you ads relevant to your preferences. If you remove all preferences, you will see still see ads but they might not be relevant to you.

With this, we have covered all of the important settings for your Facebook profile to improve your security and privacy on Facebook. I will next post a cheatsheet that you can download with actionable steps to improve your Facebook security.

Leave you thoughts in the comments below. We would love to hear from you!