If you’ve landed on this page, you’re probably wondering how you can use Facebook safely.
In this lesson we’ll look at ways and tricks to get the most out of Facebook. We’ll talk about privacy on Facebook and security on Facebook.
If you’ve read the previous lessons, you’ll have noticed we’ve covered a variety of topics. In the last lesson we talked about Facebook chat — which can be turned off for specific people, for example — but here we’ll look at other useful things you can do to use Facebook safely.
Since we’re talking about Facebook Messenger, let’s start from here: how to use Facebook Messenger without being seen.
Let’s get started!
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As promised, let’s start with privacy on Facebook Messenger. The first tip we can give you, if you don’t want any hassle for not replying to someone’s messages on Facebook, is to hide the “seen” status on Facebook.
Isn’t it better to feel free to read, reply whenever you want — or not reply at all — without having to explain yourself?
There are a few ways to do it.
First of all, you should know that on Facebook Messenger the message statuses are the following:
- white circle: your message hasn’t been delivered yet;
- white circle with a blue check: the message has been delivered to the user;
- blue circle with a white check: the message has been received by the user;
- circle with the user’s profile picture: the message has been read.
There are a few ways to make sure that neither the “seen” status nor your last active time shows up on Messenger:
- Turn on Airplane mode: after enabling Airplane mode (the airplane icon in the settings bar), you can read all the messages that have arrived on Facebook Messenger. Then completely close the Facebook Messenger app and turn Airplane mode off.
- Turn on push notifications: don’t show yourself as active on Facebook Messenger, but set up push alert notifications from Settings-Notifications-Messenger. Push notifications only let you read 162 characters, so you might not be able to read the whole message.
- Google Chrome extensions: Unseen and Facebook Chat Privacy. These extensions also let you hide your last active time on Facebook. The difference between the two is that with Facebook Chat Privacy, if you happen to be typing a reply, your last active time will show up.
Free image from Pixabay
Let’s leave Facebook Messenger behind and start talking about security on Facebook.
As you know, from the moment you join a social network — in this case Facebook — you could become a victim of hackers on Facebook. That’s why you can see that paying attention to privacy on Facebook and security on Facebook is essential.
Is it possible to set up extra protection for your Facebook account?
Of course. Here are some pointers to start using Facebook safely right away.
The first thing we suggest is to check whether your Facebook profile has been hacked. It’s very easy to do: just visit the Facebook help page, which will give you the guidance you need to figure out whether anything “odd” has happened.
The second thing to check is whether someone has accessed your account without you knowing. Just go to your Facebook account Settings, under “Security and login“, and check which devices most recently logged in with your account, and where from.
You can enable an extra layer of protection, for example by selecting the option: get alerts about unrecognized logins. This way you’ll receive notifications both by email and on Facebook letting you know that a login from another browser or device has been detected.
The amount of data Facebook manages to store about us is truly staggering.
Think, for example, of all those apps and websites where we can register without typing in our details, simply by signing in with our Facebook account. That gives you an idea of how much information Facebook can pass along: instead of asking us for our data, the site or app in question pulls it straight from Facebook.
And think about how many times you’ve come across ads on sites and apps related to searches you made on Facebook?
You should know there’s a way to put an end to these processes.
You can choose to enable anonymous browsing, and it’s very easy to do:
- You can use Facebook extensions like Facebook Disconnect. This extension stops Facebook from tracking the websites we browse. Beyond this one, you can also try the following: Ghostery and Social Disconnect Plus.
- You can enable incognito browsing in the browser you’re using. This kind of browsing isn’t anonymous — your IP address still shows up on the sites you visit — but no traces of what you visit online are kept.
- You can even hide your identity while you browse. You can do it with a piece of software that’s been active and popular for years: Tor Browser. Nobody will be able to see the sites you visit, you’ll be able to access blocked sites, and your geographic location won’t be detected.
Need a list of Facebook tools?
Looking for a tool to schedule your Facebook posts in advance?
Need a tool to create quizzes and contests?
Want to use an analytics tool and discover the best ones?
No problem, we’ll give you the complete list. FREE!
Get your free Facebook tools list
One of the recurring nightmares of anyone who uses Facebook is losing their data.
Did you know you can save and download your Facebook profile data? This is a really interesting feature because, alas, data loss can happen.
What can you do to get your whole Facebook back just as you left it before losing your data?
To recover what’s in your Facebook profile, go to your General account settings and, right below the window that appears, you’ll find the option Download a copy of your Facebook data. Once you’ve selected it, proceed by selecting Start my archive.
Saving all your data will take the system quite a while, and once everything is saved, check your email — you’ll get a message letting you know.
There you go: one more trick for recovering everything you’ve put into your Facebook profile.
Free image from Pixabay
That’s right! You can manage your posts and all your activity and decide what to do with them. You can simply review them (even really old ones), you can hide them from your timeline, or you can delete them for good.
This is a handy feature, because maybe some of the things you’ve posted no longer feel right, or you simply don’t want them showing up on your Facebook profile.
Using Facebook safely also means staying in control of what you do.
How? Simply go to the top right, where you’ll see the little downward-facing arrow (the quick help menu), and scroll down to Activity Log.
When the new window opens, you’ll be able to review your posts, the posts you’ve been tagged in tag, hidden posts, the likes you’ve left and so on — and from there you can manage your posts, deleting or hiding whatever you don’t like or don’t need.
Conclusion
In this lesson of the Facebook Academy you’ve learned how to use Facebook safely and how to set up security on Facebook and privacy on Facebook thanks to a few tricks that might come in handy! Stay up to date by following the lessons of your favorite Facebook Academy! In the upcoming lessons we’ll cover increasingly advanced and specific topics.
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Want to level up your Facebook skills? Contact us! We’ll find the right course for you.
Want to ask us something or just talk to us? Contact us! That’s what we’re here for.
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