Protect your Privacy on Social Networks
Ask your Friends & Network to keep you Informed. Most of the damage seen across all ages is caused by things that other people post about you, sometimes even without your knowledge. Anyone can tweet about you and post about you, post photos of you...and thanks to facial-recognition technology - you can always be identified and auto-tagged. To take control, set up alerts with your name, monitor social networks and ask your friends and network to keep you informed.
Third party apps are not always a party. Third party apps on social networks and smart phones can transmit detailed personal information to the companies that make them. Allowing apps to access your Twitter and Facebook account, which is what you do when you download an app, could also result in personal data being shared not just for advertising...It is best to maintain privacy control and use trustworthy apps wisely.
Bragging Rights. It's tempting to boast online that you're on a beach drinking a Pina Colada... Or that you gained 15 pounds after your Thanksgiving feast. If you do, you might as well be telling a home intruder, your insurance company, your health care provider and your boss...
Don't talk to strangers. When starting out on a social network, it's tempting to accept every friend or follow every request that you receive. On Twitter, if you don't have your tweets protected, anyone will be able to follow you and see your updates. It's best to only accept requests from friends and family.
Max out your privacy settings. It's best to set your privacy settings to the highest level on social networks. This will allow you to have more control over who can post on your wall or follow you. You will also have more control over who can access your personal information.
Don't Stop Changing. Social networks are always changing their offerings and their privacy settings. Set reminders to periodically check and maintain your privacy settings on social networks.
See also 10 Ways to Protect Yourself Online by Reader's Digest.
Jenny, Media Manager at W3Now
There are no comments for this entry.
[Add Comment] [Subscribe to Comments]