While social media is used for staying connected with friends, showcasing accomplishments, and participating in communities, it provides an age-old risk of betraying your personal privacy. Submitted the information you provide can result in exploitation by cybercriminals and data brokers, that also something innocuous you post may still unintendedly reveal sensitive facts. But if you want to use social media without exposing your personal life to everyone, here are some tips.

1. Check & Change Your Privacy Settings

Restrict Audience Visibility: There are privacy settings on social media platforms that allow you to define who sees your posts. And double check your privacy settings to restrict the people who see what you do to just your best friends or certain circles.

To manage your profile visibility: Make it private– especially in sensitive areas like birth date, location & contact details. This is makes it more difficult for a stranger or data miner to collect information about you.

Review Your Settings: Social media platforms update their privacy policies all the time, take a moment to check your settings periodically and verify they are still meeting your needs.

Pro tip: Take advantage of the “View As” tool, which many platforms offer so you can see a public or selective look at your profile.

2. Choose Carefully Whom You Disclose Your Personal Information

Don’t reveal too much: Take care with the information you post, especially aspects like your full name, address and phone number or financial details But even passing references to that information can be used against you by cybercrooks.

Omit Location Tags: Steer clear of tagging your location in real-time posts, especially at home or at work. If criminals know where you are (or aren’t), you may be exposed to the risk of being stalked or of burglary, etc.

Beware of Metadata: Photographs may externalize metadata information (i.e. encoded time and location). How to manage your own anonymity Remove any metadata before image uploads, a good rule is if you make the photo somewhere personally (like in private or sensitives places) remove all metadata.

3. Strong and Unique Passwords

Strong Passwords- weak passwords can have your social media accounts up for grab by some hackers so be very careful. When it comes to your passwords, use a mix of letters, numbers and symbols — Hilbert recommends you create 12- to 16-character passwords with no spaces or other characters that aren’t easily typed on most keyboard (along those same guidelines: don’t store “internationalized” domain names here) — avoid common words such as “password” or your name/birthday.

Do Not Recycle Passwords: If one account is hacked and you use the same password for another account, all of your accounts are at risk. Use unique passwords for each social media platform, instead.

Tip: We recommend you start using password manager and it will generate those long complex passwords for all your accounts.

4. Turn on Two-Factor Authentication (2FA)

This means 2FA: Two-factor authentication, which requires a second form of verification (i.e.text message or code from an authenticator app)in addition to the password protecting your accounts.

Protect from Hackers: Regarding a leak of your password 2FA makes sure even the thief can not login withouth the second authorisation.

Hint: It is best to use an authenticator app (like Google Authenticator) instead of using SMS-based 2FA as SMSs can be sniffed out, if that would happen.

5. Use Third-Party Apps Carefully

Restrict App Permissions: Some third-party apps will ask for permission to your social media accounts, but a some could collect your personal data without any good intentions. Get apps that are trustworthy and will only ask for the necessary permissions.

Time to Take Back the Keys: At least once a month, review which apps have permission to access your social media accounts and remove any dead or untrustworthy ones.

Pro tip: Periodically check settings of the apps which are connected to your social media accounts.

6. Think Before You Post

SKIPPING TOUCHY SUBJECTS: No posting about the state of your bank account, medical information or a messy legal entanglement. Ask whether the information you share might be used against you.

Avoid Scams and Phishing – Look out for unsolicited messages containing fake links that directly or indirectly take you to incrementality.ImplOptions posts. Phishing refers to the strategy that numerous scammers take when trying to steal a user’s personal information such as card numbers or downloading malware.

BEWARE… NEVER POST YOUR PERSONAL DETAILS (PASSWORDS/ CREDIT CARD NUMBERS…) IN PUBLIC SOCIAL MEDIA WALL OR MESSAGES (YES, EVEN IF IT COMES FROM SOMEONE TRUSTWORTHY).

7. Friend Requests to Limit Exposure

Do not Take Everyone: It is very important to check friend requests, your not accepting many friend requests and follower request if anyone unworthy or unknown mundane streaming request let it be. Comprised of fake accounts, be it to acquire your personal information or facilitate a completely unrelated scam.

Check Friend/ Lists: Occasionally check your friend or follower lists to ensure you know and trust everyone connected to your profile.

Note for you: If you are linked to a person & they send request again then its better option to check by his/her other account coz there is high chance of cloning account and fake.

8. Utilize Encryption and Safe Links

Use HTTPS: Always choose a “HTTPS” secure connection when you are e.g. in social median; This secures data sent from your device and the platform, making it difficult for hackers listen in to what you are sending over.

Steer clear from Public Wi-Fi: As public Wi-Fi networks are easily hackable.dequeuegetLast()==; Do not log in to a social media account on an unsecure network, or better yet use a VPN.

Tips: When you need to use public WiFi, you can consider using a VPN to encrypt your internet traffic.

9. Monitoring and Tracking_Data Harvesting Practices

Understanding the Risks: Social media platforms may have multiple information about users — personal details, surfing history, preferences. Keep in mind you guys even private posts can be subjected to demographic profiling for targeted advertising as well.

No Data Sharing: By default, all social media websites share your data with advertisers or third party so you must go to the setting and limit data sharing.

Takeaway: Please read the privacy policies of social channels to understand how your data can be reused collected.

10. FURTHER INFORMATION TO AVOID BEING FRAUDCheck your accounts for suspicious transactions

Keep an Eye for Strange Activity: Test your account periodically for abnormal task just like a singular login, posting of matters not posted with the aid of them or sending out messages they did not send.

Report Problems Immediately: As soon as you see things that are not kosher, report it to the platform and attempt to minimize damage (ex. change your password, disable granted apps).

TIP: Most of the social media platforms provide you with an activity log where you can track from where and when did your account is accessed. With this feature, you can easily identify any abnormal activity.

Conclusion

Securing your personal information on social media is a mix of diligent posting, good security habits, and knowing how to check up on your accounts. You still get all the social benefits, and you can drastically change your security (and psychological safety) profile by doing these few things: using privacy settings, obeying good password practices and third-party warnings.