How To Change Privacy Settings on Twitter, Facebook, and More

Social media allows us to share life moments and stay connected. But oversharing on platforms like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and TikTok can compromise your privacy. In fact, research shows 73% of Americans are concerned about their online privacy being invaded by social media companies and other unauthorized parties.

That‘s why learning how to update your privacy settings is a crucial skill in the social media age. This comprehensive guide will provide step-by-step instructions for taking control of your privacy on today‘s top social networks. I‘ll cover how to update settings on both desktop and mobile, along with expert tips to stay safe. Let‘s dive in!

Why Social Media Privacy Matters

Most social platforms default to very open, public settings. For instance, Twitter makes your tweets visible to everyone by default. Instagram profiles start out public. And Facebook wants as many people as possible to see your posts and info.

The reason? Wider access means more data collection and more targeted advertising opportunities. But this openness also leaves you vulnerable:

Data harvesting – Social networks assemble detailed data profiles about you to inform targeted ads. Stricter privacy limits this extensive behind-the-scenes data gathering.
Unwanted contact – Strangers with bad intentions can potentially direct message or follow you based on your public posts, photos and location check-ins.
Stalkers – Unfortunately, stalkers and other potentially dangerous individuals can monitor your public activity for surveillance purposes.
Reputational risks – Future employers or college admissions officers may potentially see your public content and make judgments.
Safety hazards – Predators can use public social media activity to build a profile on you or your children‘s interests, whereabouts, and habits.
Identity theft – Scammers may exploit details shared publicly to steal your identity or access other accounts.

So it‘s incredibly important to adjust your privacy settings accordingly and avoid oversharing personal details publicly. Don‘t share anything publicly that you wouldn‘t be comfortable with the entire world seeing.

Now let‘s dive into the specific privacy settings for top social platforms.

Twitter Privacy Settings

Twitter provides options to control whether your tweets are fully public or limited to just your followers. You can also restrict things like location data and photo tagging.

Twitter Default Privacy Settings

By default, Twitter‘s privacy stance is very open. Some key defaults:

Tweets are public, visible to all Twitter users by default.
Location data shared in tweets is public.
Profile photo tagging is enabled automatically.
Your Following list is public so anyone can see who you follow.
The Tweet embed feature allows public tweets to be embedded on external sites.

So you may wish to restrict some of these defaults. Fortunately, Twitter provides privacy controls to match your comfort level.

Change Twitter Privacy Settings on Desktop

Go to Twitter.com and log in. Click your profile icon for quick access to settings.
Click More (the three dot icon) in the left sidebar menu.
Select Settings and privacy from the menu.
Choose Privacy and safety from the settings menu.
Go to Audience and tagging to limit tweet visibility.
Check the box for Protect your Tweets to make tweets visible to followers only.
Disable photo tagging if desired. You can also restrict location data here.
Explore other options like disabling Tweet embedding and making your Following list private.

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Update Twitter Privacy Settings on Mobile

Open the Twitter app and tap your profile icon in the top left.
Choose Settings and privacy from the menu.
Select Privacy and safety.
Go to Audience and tagging.
Turn on Protect your Tweets to restrict tweets to followers only.
Opt out of photo tagging if preferred. You can also limit location sharing here.
Adjust other settings like tweet embedding and Making your Following list private.

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Twitter also provides additional options to disable location tagging in individual tweets and customize settings for filtering sensitive/adult content. Spend time thoroughly exploring all the available privacy and safety controls.

Facebook Privacy Settings

Facebook grants you in-depth control over who can view your posts, photos, profile information, and more. You can dial up privacy by restricting content visibility to smaller audiences.

Facebook‘s Default Privacy Settings

By default, Facebook sets your privacy in public-facing ways:

Your profile is searchable publicly.
Posts are visible to all Facebook users by default.
Your friends list is public for anyone to browse.
Group memberships are viewable on your profile.
Your profile can appear in Facebook Dating and Marketplace.
Facebook tracks your activity for ad targeting, even off-platform.

As you can see, Facebook‘s priority is making you and your information as discoverable as possible. But you can overwrite the defaults.

Change Facebook Privacy Settings on Desktop

Go to Facebook.com and login.
Click your profile picture in the top right and select Settings & privacy.
Choose Settings from the menu.
Click Privacy in the left column.
Adjust settings like:

Who can see your future posts
Limit old post visibility
Disable public search ability
Restrict ad topic targeting

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Take time to thoroughly customize these settings to your comfort level. You can dial privacy up or down for individual post audiences, limit profile visibility, disable facial recognition, and much more.

Update Facebook Privacy Settings on Mobile

Open the Facebook app and tap the hamburger menu (three line icon).
Choose Settings & privacy from the menu.
Select Settings.
Tap Privacy.
Customize options like:

Who can see your posts
Limit old posts visibility
Disable public search ability

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Facebook‘s granular privacy controls allow you to find the right balance of sharing. Take advantage by spending time exploring all the options.

Instagram Privacy Settings

Instagram provides a simple but important privacy choice – whether your account is public or private. You can also restrict story visibility and incoming messages.

Instagram‘s Default Privacy Settings

By default, Instagram sets your new account to public:

Your profile and all posts are visible to anyone.
Stories are public and can be reshared.
You can be added to collaborations without approval.
Anyone can direct message you, even strangers.

A private account improves privacy:

Only approved followers can see your content.
Others will have to follow you first to connect.
You control who can view stories.
Potentially offensive messages can be filtered.

Change Instagram Privacy Settings on Desktop

Go to Instagram.com and log in.
Click your profile picture.
Select Settings from the menu.
Choose Privacy and Security.
Under Account Privacy, switch to a private account or remain public.
Change Story settings to restrict sharing and visibility.

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Tip – Instagram also lets you restrict tags and mentions and filter offensive comments. Spend time customizing these additional settings.

Update Instagram Privacy Settings on Mobile

Open the Instagram app and tap your profile picture.
Choose the hamburger menu (three line icon).
Select Settings from the menu.
Tap Privacy.
Switch to a Private Account or remain public.
Limit Story and Post sharing if desired.

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The choice between a public or private account is Instagram‘s core privacy control. Make this setting match your preferences.

YouTube Privacy Settings

YouTube provides options to pause your watch and search history tracking. You can also hide your channel subscriptions and likes.

YouTube‘s Default Privacy Settings

YouTube‘s default settings optimize content recommendations, not privacy:

Your watch history is tracked to refine video suggestions.
Searches are logged to tailor your results.
Subscriptions you make are public by default.
Your post likes and dislikes are also public.
Ad personalization is enabled to serve targeted/relevant ads.

YouTube obviously benefits from collecting this type of usage data. But you can choose to limit it.

Change YouTube Privacy Settings on Desktop

Go to YouTube and login. Click your profile icon for quick settings access.
Select Settings from the menu.
Choose Privacy.
Pause Watch History and Search History tracking.
Make Subscriptions private.
Disable Ad personalization if you want.

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Update YouTube Privacy on Mobile

Open the YouTube app and tap your profile picture.
Select Settings from the menu.
Choose History & privacy.
Toggle off Watch history and Search history.
Enable Pause watch history as needed.
Turn off Ad personalization if desired.

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YouTube also provides controls for video privacy, comment display, and data downloading for active management.

Going Beyond Basic Privacy Settings

Along with adjusting platform privacy configurations, experts recommend these additional steps:

Share intelligently – Be mindful of what you post publicly online. Don‘t share personally identifiable details or anything you want kept private.
Limit audiences – Share vulnerable posts only with your closest inner circle rather than broadly.
Review old posts – Take time to delete or hide outdated, embarrassing, or excessive content.
Disable location services – Avoid tagging locations to limit physical tracking of your whereabouts.
Use anonymous accounts – If you want to post publicly, consider using an account without your real identity attached.
Enable two-factor authentication – Add an extra layer of login security so your accounts can‘t be compromised.
Understand terms of service – Know exactly how platforms are harvesting and leveraging your data, photos, posts, and metadata.
Teach children responsibility – Set up parental controls on your kids‘ accounts and educate them on smart social media use.
Limit ad targeting – Opt out of behavioral ads to prevent creepy stalker-like ad retargeting.
Use social media privacy tools – Browser extensions like Privacy Badger and bookmarklets like Feedless help control tracking.
Browse anonymously with a VPN – Use a virtual private network to encrypt all traffic and hide your IP address from social sites.

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The key is balancing your desire for social connection with comfort around sharing personal details publicly online. Adjusting privacy configurations puts you back in control of those boundaries.

Securing Your Kids‘ Privacy

Children and teens are especially vulnerable on social media. As a parent, you may be concerned about protecting their privacy. Here are some tips:

Set up parental controls by enabling supervised accounts tied to your monitoring on platforms that offer them.
Have open conversations about appropriate social media use and safeguarding personal details. Teach critical thinking around sharing.
Encourage your child to use privacy settings to restrict profile and post visibility. Guide them through disabling location services and Activity Status.
Advise against connecting with strangers online and establish rules around adding unknown contacts.
Limit their exposure by allowing access to only age-appropriate platforms and apps. Avoid public accounts.
Monitor their activities, friends/followers, posts, and engagement for concerning influences.
Set notifications for tags and posts to stay updated in real-time. Utilize available activity logs and history checks.
Remind them to approach social platforms with thoughtful authenticity, not chasing trends, likes, and shares.
Teach the implications of oversharing around future reputation, college admission, employment, identity theft, stalkers, etc.
Let them know they can always come to you about discomfort, without judgement. Provide assurance that corrections/account deletions are possible.
Ensure your children understand platforms‘ privacy policies and accountability. Avoid false senses of anonymity.
Explore teen-focused social media groups like Yubo that incorporate safety measures.

Our kids‘ developing digital lives require active guidance, discretion modeling, and continuous open dialogue. Work as a team to set smart privacy ground rules.

In Closing

It‘s easy to overshare on social media without understanding the potential privacy implications. Make sure you have firm control over how much personal information you reveal publicly online. Adjust platform-specific privacy settings according to your comfort level.

I hope this guide provides you with everything you need to know to boost your social media privacy! Please reach out if you have any other questions.