Social Media Privacy Settings You Should Change Now

Social media platforms have become an integral part of modern life, connecting us with friends, family, and the world at large. However, this connectivity comes at a significant cost to your privacy. Most social media platforms are designed to collect as much personal data as possible, and their default privacy settings are configured to maximize data sharing rather than protect your information. Taking control of your privacy settings across all platforms is one of the most impactful steps you can take to protect your digital identity. This guide walks you through the essential privacy settings you should change on every major social media platform.

Why Social Media Privacy Matters

The information you share on social media can be used in ways you never intended or imagined. Data brokers purchase social media information and combine it with other data sources to build comprehensive profiles that are sold to advertisers, insurance companies, employers, and even law enforcement agencies. Cybercriminals also mine social media profiles for personal details that can be used in targeted phishing attacks, identity theft, and social engineering schemes.

Consider the information you share casually on social media: your birthday, your pet's name, your hometown, your school, your workplace, your daily routine, your vacation plans, and your relationships. Each of these data points is a potential answer to a security question or a clue that an attacker can use to craft a convincing phishing message. When combined, these details create a comprehensive picture of your life that can be exploited in numerous ways.

Privacy on social media is not just about preventing targeted attacks. It is about maintaining control over your personal narrative and deciding who gets to see what aspects of your life. In an era where employers routinely check social media profiles, where insurance companies can use online activity to adjust premiums, and where personal information posted online can follow you indefinitely, managing your privacy settings is an essential form of self-protection.

Facebook Privacy Settings

Facebook collects more personal data than virtually any other social media platform, and its privacy settings are spread across multiple menus, making them deliberately difficult to find and configure. However, spending time adjusting these settings can dramatically reduce the amount of information Facebook shares about you.

Start by navigating to Settings and Privacy, then Privacy Settings. Change your default post audience from Public to Friends, or even a custom list of close contacts. Review the setting for who can see your friends list and change it from Public or Friends to Only Me. Limit who can look you up using your email address and phone number by setting these options to Friends or Only Me. Disable the option that allows search engines to link to your profile, which prevents your Facebook profile from appearing in Google search results.

Facebook Ad and Tracking Settings

Navigate to Settings, then Ad Preferences to control how Facebook uses your data for advertising. Disable all options under Ad Settings, including ads based on data from partners, ads based on your activity on Facebook Company Products, and social interactions in ads. Go to Off-Facebook Activity and clear your history, then disable Future Off-Facebook Activity tracking. This prevents Facebook from connecting your browsing activity on other websites back to your Facebook profile.

Review your App Permissions in the Apps and Websites section and remove any apps you no longer use. Each connected app has access to certain parts of your profile, and forgotten apps may continue to collect your data indefinitely. Also disable the Platform option if you want to completely prevent third-party applications from accessing any of your Facebook data.

The average social media user has their personal data shared with over 5,000 companies through advertising networks and data partnerships. Adjusting your privacy settings can reduce this number significantly, but it requires reviewing settings on every platform you use.

Instagram Privacy Guide

Instagram, owned by Meta, shares many of Facebook's data collection practices while adding location tracking and visual data analysis to the mix. Since Instagram is primarily a visual platform, it presents unique privacy challenges related to photo metadata, location tagging, and facial recognition.

The most impactful privacy setting on Instagram is switching your account to Private. When your account is private, only approved followers can see your posts, stories, and reels. To do this, go to Settings, then Privacy, and toggle on Private Account. This single change prevents strangers from viewing your content, following your activity, and downloading your photos.

Disable Activity Status under Settings and Privacy to prevent followers from seeing when you were last active on the platform. Turn off the option to share your story to Facebook, which creates an additional exposure point for your content. Review the Tags section and enable Manually Approve Tags to prevent others from tagging you in posts without your permission. Also navigate to the Hidden Words section and enable the option to filter offensive comments and message requests from unknown accounts.

• Switch to a private account to control who sees your content
• Disable Activity Status to hide your online presence
• Enable manual tag approval for all photos
• Turn off story sharing to Facebook
• Restrict direct messages from non-followers
• Review and remove location tags from existing posts
• Disable the option that allows Instagram to save your search history

Twitter/X Privacy Controls

Twitter, now rebranded as X, offers several privacy settings that many users overlook. While the platform is designed for public conversation, there are important settings you should adjust to minimize unnecessary data collection and protect your personal information.

Go to Settings, then Privacy and Safety. Under Audience and Tagging, consider protecting your tweets if you want only approved followers to see your posts. Even if you keep your tweets public, disable Photo Tagging or set it to Only People You Follow. Under Direct Messages, disable the option that allows anyone to send you direct messages to reduce spam and potential phishing attempts.

Navigate to Privacy and Safety, then Data Sharing and Personalization. Disable all personalization and data collection options, including Personalize Based on Your Inferred Identity, Personalized Ads, and Allow Additional Information Sharing with Business Partners. Under Location Information, disable Personalize Based on Places You Have Been and remove any previously shared location data. Turn off Discoverability settings that allow people to find you via your email address or phone number.

TikTok Privacy Settings

TikTok presents significant privacy concerns due to the extensive data it collects, including device identifiers, keystroke patterns, clipboard contents, and precise location data. While some data collection cannot be disabled through settings alone, adjusting the available privacy options can meaningfully reduce your exposure.

Set your account to Private by going to Settings and Privacy, then Privacy. This ensures that only approved followers can view your videos, liked videos, and following list. Disable Suggest Your Account to Others, which prevents TikTok from recommending your profile to strangers based on your phone contacts, Facebook friends, or email address. Turn off Sync Contacts and Find Friends to prevent the app from accessing your phone's contact list.

Under Safety settings, limit who can comment on your videos to Friends or No One, and restrict who can Duet, Stitch, or download your videos. Disable the option for others to find you via your phone number or email address. Navigate to the Ads section and disable Personalized Ads to reduce behavioral tracking. Be particularly cautious with TikTok's location settings and ensure the app only has access to your location while using it, or disable location access entirely through your device's operating system settings.

LinkedIn Privacy Configuration

LinkedIn is often overlooked in privacy discussions because it is considered a professional platform, but it collects extensive data and shares it with recruiters, advertisers, and third-party partners. Because LinkedIn profiles often contain detailed employment history, education, skills, and professional connections, a privacy breach on LinkedIn can have serious professional consequences.

Go to Settings and Privacy, then Visibility. Adjust your Profile Viewing Options to Private Mode if you want to browse other profiles anonymously, though this also means you will not be able to see who viewed your profile. Under Profile Discovery and Visibility, decide whether you want your profile to appear in search engine results. Disable the option that allows your connections to see your connections list, as this information can be valuable for social engineering attacks targeting your professional network.

Under Data Privacy settings, disable LinkedIn's use of your data for research, and opt out of data sharing with third parties. Review your Advertising Data options and disable all interest categories and third-party data sharing. Remove any connected services and applications that you no longer use. Also consider disabling the Active Status feature so that your connections cannot see when you are online, which prevents people from knowing your browsing habits on the platform.

1. Review profile visibility and switch to private browsing mode
2. Disable search engine indexing if professional exposure is not needed
3. Hide your connections list from other connections
4. Opt out of all advertising data tracking options
5. Remove unused third-party app connections
6. Disable active status indicators
7. Review and limit email notification settings to reduce data processing

General Social Media Privacy Tips

Beyond platform-specific settings, there are universal best practices that apply to all social media use. These habits create an additional layer of protection regardless of which platforms you use or how often their privacy settings change.

Never share personal identifying information such as your home address, phone number, driver's license number, or financial details on any social media platform, even in private messages. Social media companies can access private messages, and data breaches can expose them to attackers. Be cautious about sharing your real-time location, whether through check-ins, geotagged photos, or live streaming, as this information can be used to track your movements and determine when you are away from home.

Use unique, strong passwords for each social media account and enable two-factor authentication on every platform that supports it. Review your privacy settings at least once per quarter, as platforms frequently update their settings and may reset preferences during major updates. Regularly audit your friends and followers lists and remove connections you do not recognize or no longer want to have access to your information. Consider using a dedicated email address for social media accounts that is separate from your primary email, which reduces the risk if any platform experiences a data breach.

Data Your Social Media Collects About You

Understanding the scope of data collection helps motivate proper privacy configuration. Social media platforms collect far more data than most users realize, and this data extends well beyond what you voluntarily share in posts and profile fields.

Platforms track your device information including device model, operating system version, screen resolution, battery level, and available storage space. They collect network information including your IP address, Wi-Fi network name, cellular carrier, and connection speed. They monitor your in-app behavior including every post you view, how long you look at it, whether you pause while scrolling, and what you search for. Location data is collected continuously on mobile devices, even when you are not actively using the app, creating a detailed map of your daily movements.

Perhaps most concerning is off-platform tracking. Through embedded pixels, social login buttons, and advertising SDKs, social media companies track your activity across millions of other websites and apps. This data is used to build a comprehensive advertising profile that can include your shopping habits, health interests, political leanings, financial status, and relationship patterns. Request a copy of your data from each platform using their data download tools to see exactly what has been collected about you. The results are often eye-opening and serve as powerful motivation to lock down your privacy settings immediately.

• Device data: Model, OS version, battery level, storage, screen resolution
• Network data: IP address, Wi-Fi name, carrier, connection speed
• Behavioral data: Every view, click, scroll pause, and search query
• Location data: GPS coordinates, often collected continuously in the background
• Contact data: Phone contacts, email addresses, call and text logs
• Off-platform data: Browsing history, purchases, app usage from partner sites
• Biometric data: Face recognition templates, voice patterns from video content