Social Media Privacy Settings: Lock Down Every Platform (2026)

Your social media profiles reveal more than you think — location, workplace, travel plans, daily routines, and professional connections. Attackers use this information for:

• Spear phishing: Crafting convincing emails using details from your profiles
• Social engineering: Impersonating colleagues they found on your LinkedIn
• SIM swap attacks: Gathering personal details needed for identity verification
• Physical security: Knowing when you're traveling (home is empty)

1. Settings > Privacy > Who can see your future posts: Change to "Friends" (not Public)
2. Limit past posts: Use "Limit Past Posts" to bulk-change old public posts to Friends
3. Profile review: Enable "Review posts you're tagged in" before they appear
4. App permissions: Settings > Apps and Websites — remove everything you don't actively use
5. Off-Facebook Activity: Settings > Your Facebook Information > Off-Facebook Activity — clear history and disable future connections
6. Location: Disable location history entirely

1. Privacy > Account Privacy: Switch to Private if you don't need a public profile
2. Privacy > Activity Status: Turn off so others can't see when you're online
3. Privacy > Story: Limit who can see your stories
4. Close Friends: Use Close Friends list for personal content, keep main feed professional
5. Login Activity: Check Settings > Security > Login Activity for unknown devices

1. Settings > Privacy > Protect your posts: Consider if you need public posts
2. Discoverability: Turn off "Let others find you by email/phone"
3. Location: Never add location to posts. Disable location tagging
4. Data sharing: Settings > Privacy > Ads preferences — disable all personalization
5. Connected apps: Settings > Security > Apps — revoke unused third-party access

1. Settings > Visibility > Profile viewing options: Consider "Private mode" for browsing
2. Email visibility: Set to "Only visible to me" or connections only
3. Connections: Hide your connections list from non-connections
4. Activity broadcasts: Turn off "Share profile changes" to avoid broadcasting job searches
5. Data privacy: Settings > Data Privacy > manage what third-party apps can access

1. Privacy > Discoverability: Disable "Suggest your account to others"
2. Private account: Enable if you don't need public visibility
3. Comments: Restrict who can comment (Friends or Everyone)
4. Downloads: Disable video downloads of your content
5. Personalization: Settings > Privacy > Personalization — reduce data collection

• Different email per platform: Use email aliases (Proton Pass, Apple Hide My Email) so breaches on one platform don't expose accounts on others
• Don't reuse profile photos: Reverse image search can link your accounts across platforms
• Review annually: Privacy settings change frequently as platforms update their UIs
• Be cautious with quizzes and apps: Third-party apps on social platforms often harvest data
• Search yourself: Google your name periodically to see what's publicly visible

Privacy settings verified on current versions of each platform in April 2026. Recommendations based on EFF privacy guidelines and Mozilla's Data Detox Kit. Settings may change as platforms update their interfaces.

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