Facebook Settings and Privacy

Facebook has a lot of issues with privacy and security, however, for many of us, it is the best way to
keep track of faraway family and friends. Hopefully, the following suggestions will allow you to feel a
little more secure while using the social media site.
Things to Make Your Facebook Use More Secure
Here are the top things you can do to make using Facebook safer:

 Do NOT use the Facebook app on your phone. Use a web browser on your phone instead.
 Do NOT use the Facebook Messenger app on your phone.
 Install a browser on your computer / device that you ONLY use for Facebook.
 Go through all your Facebook privacy settings.
 Do NOT use Facebook to log into other websites; create credentials for every site.
 Regularly remove third-party apps that have permissions to our account.
 Use privacy and security add-ons to restrict access to your browsing history.

BONUS: Create and use an email account that is unique for Facebook.

Securing Facebook
Accessing Your Facebook Settings
1. In the top right corner of the Facebook
window, click the gear icon.
2. From the drop down menu, select
Settings.

Turn Off Face Recognition

1. Open your Facebook settings. In the left pane, select Face Recognition.
2. On the right side of the window, click on Edit.
3. Change the toggle from Yes to No. Click Close.
https://www.wired.com/story/how-to-turn-off-facebook-face-recognition-features/
https://www.cnet.com/how-to/turn-off-facebook-facial-recogition-feature/
Created by Michelle for OLLI@WVU 1
Secure Your Timeline and Tagging Settings
1. Open your Facebook settings.
2. In the left pane, select Timeline and Tagging.
https://www.facebook.com/help/115469971891543?helpref=faq_content
Check Your Privacy Settings
1. Open your Facebook settings.
2. In the left pane, click Privacy.

Who can send you friend requests?

Setting this to Friends of friends limits the audience of people who can make friend requests,
however, it means that if you don’t have friends in common, you can’t receive a friend request
from someone.

Who can see your friends list?

Unless you know someone famous, Friends of friends is a reasonable choice.

Do you want search engines outside of Facebook to link to your profile?

Do you want your Facebook page to come up in a google search of your name?
Turn Off Location History
https://www.imore.com/how-stop-facebook-tracking-your-location
https://www.facebook.com/help/275925085769221
Remove Third-Party Apps
https://www.imore.com/how-to-revoke-facebook-app-permissions
Facebook’s Instructions for Privacy Settings
https://www.facebook.com/help/325807937506242
The Complete Guide to Facebook Privacy (Wired.com)
https://www.wired.com/story/facebook-privacy-apps-ads-friends-delete-account/
How to Use Facebooks Privacy Settings (Consumer Reports)
https://www.consumerreports.org/privacy/facebook-privacy-settings/
How to Secure our Facebook Account (CNet)
https://www.cnet.com/how-to/secure-your-facebook-account-in-six-easy-steps/
https://www.lifewire.com/how-to-secure-your-facebook-timeline-2487774

Most tech companies own other tech companies, which means that there could be sharing between
them. Here are some of the companies Facebook owns:

Instagram, Oculus VR, WhatsApp

Facebook and Whatsapp
Currently Whatsapp has extremely strong privacy, with end-to-end encryption, however, co-founder
Jan Koum recently left the company, and employees fear that FB may become more aggressive about
collecting and selling user data.

https://www.whatsapp.com/security/
https://lifehacker.com/stop-using-whatsapp-if-you-care-about-your-privacy-1825719172
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/30/technology/whatsapp-facebook-jan-koum.html

Created by Michelle for OLLI@WVU 2

Web Browsers
Product Site
Chrome https://www.google.com/chrome/
Firefox https://www.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/new/
Opera https://www.opera.com/

Web Browser Add-Ons

Product Availability Site
AdBlock Plus Firefox, Chrome, Safari https://adblockplus.org/
Disconnect Firefox, Chrome, Safari, IE https://disconnect.me/disconnect
Do Not Track Me Firefox, Chrome, Opera, Safari, IE https://abine.com/index.html
Ghostery Firefox, Chrome, Safari, IE https://www.ghostery.com/
HTTPS Everywhere Firefox, Chrome, Opera https://www.ghostery.com/

Chrome Settings

Options
Secured

To Access Your Browser Settings

1. Click the Options (Customize and Control) button in the right corner of the window.
2. From the menu, select Settings.
3. To access additional settings, scroll down to the bottom of the window and click Advanced.
To View Add-Ons
1. Click the Options button in the right corner of the window.
2. From the menu select More Tools.
3. From the pop-out menu, select Extensions.
4. In the top Left corner, click on the three parallel lines beside Extensions.
5. From the drop down menu, click on Open Chrome Web Store.

To Clear Cache
1. Click the Options (Customize and Control) button in the right corner of the window.
2. From the menu, select Settings.
3. Scroll down to the bottom of the window and click Advanced.
4. At the bottom of the Privacy & Security section, click the link for Clear browsing data.
5. In the pop-up window, set the Time Range as desired, select the items to be deleted, and click
Clear data.

Created by Michelle for OLLI@WVU 3

To Clear Saved Passwords
1. Click the Options (Customize and Control) button in the right corner of the window.
2. From the menu, select Settings.
3. Scroll down to the bottom of the window and click Advanced.
4. Scroll down to the Passwords and forms section and click on the Manage passwords link.
5. Toggle off Offer to save passwords and clear any saved passwords.

Edge Settings

Options
Secured
To Access Your Browser Settings
1. Click the Options (More) button in the right corner of the window.
2. From the drop down menu select Settings.
3. To access more options, scroll down and click the View advanced settings.
To View Add-Ons
1. Click the Options (More) button in the right corner of the window.
2. From the drop down menu select Extensions.
3. Click the link for Get extensions from the store.
To Clear Cache
1. Click the Options (More) button in the right corner of the window.
2. From the drop down menu select Settings.
3. Click the Choose what to clear button.
4. Check the desired options and click the Clear button.
To Clear Saved Passwords
1. Click the Options (More) button in the right corner of the window.
2. From the drop down menu select Settings.
3. Scroll down to the bottom of the menu and click the View advanced settings.
4. Scroll down to the Privacy and services section and toggle off Offer to save passwords. Click on
Manage my saved passwords to delete existing saved passwords.

Created by Michelle for OLLI@WVU 4

Firefox Settings

Options
Secured
To Access Your Browser Settings
1. Click the Options (Open menu) button in the right corner.
2. From the drop down menu select Options.
3. Along the left side select Privacy & Security.
To View Add-Ons
1. Click the Options (Open menu) button in the right corner.
2. From the drop down menu select Add-Ons.
3. In the text box in the top right corner, enter a search term for an add-on (such as privacy).
To Clear Cache
1. Click the Options (Open menu) button in the right corner.
2. From the drop down menu select Options.
3. Along the left side select Privacy & Security.
4. In the Cookies and Site Data section, click the Clear Data button.
5. Check both options and click Clear.
To Clear Saved Passwords
1. Click the Options (Open menu) button in the right corner.
2. From the drop down menu select Options.
3. Along the left side select Privacy & Security.
4. In the Forms & Passwords section, uncheck Ask to save logins and passwords for websites.
5. Click the Saved Logins button to delete existing saved data.

Internet Explorer Settings

Secured Options

To Access Your Browser Settings

1. Click the Options button in the right corner.
2. From the menu select Internet Options.
3. Along the top select the Security tab or the Privacy tab.
To Clear Your Cache and Delete Saved Passwords
1. Click the Options button in the right corner.
2. From the menu select Internet Options.
3. In the Browsing history section, click Delete.
4. Select the options to remove and click the Delete button.

Created by Michelle for OLLI@WVU 5

Opera Settings

Options
Secured
To Access Your Browser Settings
1. In the top left corner, click the red O.
2. From the drop down menu select Options.
3. In the left pane select Privacy & Security.
To View Add-Ons
1. In the top left corner, click the red O.
2. From the drop down menu select Extensions then from the pop-out menu select Extensions.
To Clear Cache
1. In the top left corner, click the red O.
2. From the drop down menu select History, then select Clear browsing data.
3. Select the desired time frame and the desired items to erase, then click the Clear browsing data
button.
Closing Phone Apps
Closing Apps on an Android Device
1. Tap the Recent Applications Menu button, usually at the lower left of the screen. A list of open
apps appears
2. To close an individual app, click the x beside the app or swipe right on the app.
3. To close all open apps, if available, tap Close All.

To be clear, stopping an app frequently leaves parts of that app still running in the background. To
end all processes of that app, you need to force the app to stop.
To Force Stop Apps on an Android Device
1. Open your device settings. (Typically available from the list off all applications or by pulling down
from the top of the screen to open the system tray, and tapping the gear icon.)
2. From the list of available settings, choose Apps or Applications. (Depending upon your phone.)
3. Scroll through the list to find the specific app you want to close and/or keep from running in the
background.
4. Towards the top of the screen, tap the Force Stop button.
5. The device asks if you are sure you want to do this, tap Force Stop.
Closing Apps on an iOS Device
1. Double tap on the home button to bring up a screen that displays the open apps.
OR
Swipe up twice from the bottom of the screen.
2. Drag an app up towards the top of the screen to close it.

For more, please peruse our Tech Security handout, available online and updated regularly.
https://olliatwvu.org/for-members/member-resources/document-repository/

Created by Michelle for OLLI@WVU 6

Index
Facebook Settings and Privacy .......................... 1 To Clear Saved Passwords ................................ 4
Things to Make Your Facebook Use More Edge Settings .................................................... 4
Secure ................................................................ 1 To Access Your Browser Settings ..................... 4
Things to Do in Facebook .................................. 1 To View Add-Ons .............................................. 4
Accessing Your Facebook Settings .................... 1 To Clear Cache .................................................. 4
Turn Off Face Recognition ................................ 1 To Clear Saved Passwords ................................ 4
Secure Your Timeline and Tagging Settings .... 2 Firefox Settings ................................................. 5
Check Your Privacy Settings............................. 2 To Access Your Browser Settings ..................... 5
Turn Off Location History ................................ 2 To View Add-Ons .............................................. 5
Remove Third-Party Apps ................................ 2 To Clear Cache .................................................. 5
Facebook’s Instructions for Privacy Settings ... 2 To Clear Saved Passwords ................................ 5
The Complete Guide to Facebook Privacy Internet Explorer Settings ................................ 5
(Wired.com)...................................................... 2 To Access Your Browser Settings ..................... 5
How to Use Facebooks Privacy Settings To Clear Your Cache and Delete Saved
(Consumer Reports) ......................................... 2 Passwords ......................................................... 5
How to Secure our Facebook Account (CNet) . 2 Opera Settings .................................................. 6
Facebook and Whatsapp .................................. 2 To Access Your Browser Settings ..................... 6
Web Browsers ................................................... 3 To View Add-Ons .............................................. 6
Web Browser Add-Ons ..................................... 3 To Clear Cache .................................................. 6
Chrome Settings ............................................... 3 Closing Phone Apps .......................................... 6
To Access Your Browser Settings ..................... 3 Closing Apps on an Android Device ................. 6
To View Add-Ons.............................................. 3 To Force Stop Apps on an Android Device ...... 6
To Clear Cache .................................................. 3 Closing Apps on an iOS Device ........................ 6

Please Support OLLI@WVU!

Osher Lifelong Learning Institute
Mountaineer Mall Unit C-17
PO Box 9123
Morgantown, WV 26506-9123
Phone Numbers:

Office: (304) 293-1793

Email Address: olli@hsc.wvu.edu

http://www.olliatwvu.org

Created by Michelle for OLLI@WVU 7