by Angelica Hidalgo

Created on: July 30, 2010

Facebook is now a widely popular social networking tool amongst millions of people worldwide. It provides a way of communication with friends, colleagues, relatives, and anyone else you may be looking to interact with. With it's substantially large number of users, it can seem a bit overwhelming to expect privacy from such a huge network. Nevertheless, privacy is and can be expected from anyone who desires it. It is only a matter of knowing how to adjust these privacy settings; once they're set, you are good to go. Do not be put off on making a Facebook profile if you have privacy concerns. Facebook privacy settings can be checked and altered with just a few clicks.

From the homepage, click on "Account" and then "Privacy Settings." This will lead you to a page with two different headings. One says "Basic Directory Information" while the other says "Sharing on Facebook."

Basic Directory Information-  To alter these settings, click on the link that says "View Settings." Once clicked, you will be directed to a page where you can edit the privacy levels on the following information: Search, Friend Requests, Messages, Friend List, Education/Work, City/Hometown, and Interests/Other Pages. For all these different aspects, you can choose who gets to view this specific information. Changing it is easy, just click on the button next to each aspect and choose whether you want "Everyone," "Friends of Friends," or "Friends Only" to view this information. For Friends List, Education/Work, City/Hometown, and Interests/Other Pages, you can even choose to customize which specific people can or cannot view the information, or, if you wish, you can choose to have no one be able to view said information,which is the "Only Me" option. To accomplish this, you would just choose the "Customize" link and then make your selections from there.

Sharing on Facebook- The same rules apply for this section of the privacy settings. In this section, you get to decide the privacy levels on "Things You Share," "Things Others Share," and "Contact Information." You can choose to automatically make these aspects viewable to "Everyone," "Friends of Friends," "Friends Only," or "Recommended." To do this, just click on the respective buttons, and all the aspects of this section will be viewable to the selection you choose. However, for maximum privacy control, it is a good idea to skip these automatic settings and click on the small link that says "Customize Settings." From there, you will be directed to a page that has all the different aspects of the section, and you could individually choose the privacy settings for each one. This is the best idea if you want personalized control. 

Once you have set the privacy levels to your liking, you are good to go. You can now be rest-assured and have peace of mind knowing that you can utilize Facebook knowing that your information is secured to your taste.

Learn more about this author, Angelica Hidalgo.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.