Facebook’s New Privacy Settings – How Much Are You Sharing?

If you’ve never paid attention to your Facebook privacy settings, now is the time. Users who have never adjusted privacy settings in the past may notice that Facebook has defaulted your settings to share your information with “Everyone.” And everyone does not mean every one of your friends. It means everyone. On the internet. Chances are that is not the best option for you. Here’s the easiest way to adjust your Facebook settings to be how you want:

1. Start by creating “Lists” within your Facebook friends. For example, I have groups named “Friends” “Clients” “Coworkers” and “Family”. For a step-by-step guide on creating Facebook lists, download our instruction guide here.

2. Once your lists are created, click on “Settings,” “Privacy Settings,” “Profile Information.”

3. Within the Profile Information tab, select “Change Settings” and enter your password. You will now want to go through each section restricting the information you share. If you are using friend lists, and desire privacy, most of your settings will be “Custom.” Custom will allow you to restrict individuals or lists from seeing certain information — such as posts from friends that appear on your wall.

4. Using the “Back to Privacy” link at the top of the page, adjust the settings for your contact information, applications and websites, and search as desired.

5. Test your settings by clicking the “Preview My Profile” and typing the name of a friend in each group. Continue to adjust your settings until you are comfortable with how your profile looks in the preview mode.