OK, you’ve finally created a Facebook account. Now that you have a Facebook account, how do you want to use Facebook and how do you modify your privacy settings so that the right people can access your information?

1. Facebook for the Dazed and Confused
Adjusting Your Privacy Settings
© 2009 Websmith Group www.websmithgroup.com

2. Your Goal
OK, you’ve finally created a Facebook account. Now that
you have a Facebook account, how do you want to use
Facebook?
• Keep in touch & share information with family and friends?
• Connect with former classmates or coworkers?
• Meet new people?
• Promote business?
• I have no idea (i.e. someone invited me)
© 2009 Websmith Group www.websmithgroup.com

3. Your Facebook Friends
On Facebook, the definition of “friend” is relative to how you plan to use
the service.
If you know your goal for using Facebook, it’s easy to create categories
of “friends”. Facebook has a featured called “Friend Lists” that
allows you to create friend categories.
Examples of Friend Categories:
1. Family
2. Friends
3. Classmates
4. Coworkers
5. Students
© 2009 Websmith Group www.websmithgroup.com

4. Friend Lists
To create “Friend Lists”, log into Facebook, then select the “Friends”
link in the blue header area. You will notice a “Make a New List”
button following your Friend Lists (on the left hand side of the
page).
Benefits to creating Friend Lists:
• Provides an efficient method for organizing the people that you’ve
“friended” (this is particularly helpful for those with very large
friend lists or for those that use Facebook for varying purposes).
• You can address messages to Friend Lists (similar to an email
distribution list).
• It’s easier to maintain your privacy settings using lists (categories
of people), as opposed to managing your settings for each
individual “friend”.
© 2009 Websmith Group www.websmithgroup.com

5. The Privacy Settings Area
To modify your privacy settings:
1. Log into Facebook (www.facebook.com)
2. Select Settings in the upper right hand corner of the
header
3. Select “Privacy Settings”
© 2009 Websmith Group www.websmithgroup.com

6. Privacy Overview
There are 4 areas to consider when determining your
privacy settings:
1. Your Profile – Your contact and personal information (includes your
photos, videos, status updates and access to your friends list).
2. Search – How/If you can be found by people not on your friends list.
3. Your News Feed – The data that is published regarding your Facebook
usage (adding friends, commenting, joining networks etc.)
4. Your Applications – Determines what information is
available to your Facebook applications.
© 2009 Websmith Group www.websmithgroup.com

7. Your Profile
Control who can see your contact and personal
information such as:
• Your Profile (your actual profile page)
• Basic Info (Gender, Birthday, Hometown,
Relationship Status etc.)
• Personal Info (Your Interest, Activities, Favorites,
About Me section)
• Photos Tagged of You
• Videos Tagged of You
• Status Updates
• Friends (your full friends list)
• Wall Posts
Choices Include • Education Info
“My Networks and Friends”, • Work Info
“Friend of Friends”,
“Only Friends” and
“Customize”.
Click “Customize’ identify individual people or
friend lists.
© 2009 Websmith Group www.websmithgroup.com

8. Custom Privacy Options
PUBLIC Determines who can view this area:
• Everyone (i.e. Everyone on Earth with a Facebook account)
• Your Friends and Their Friends
• All Friends (i.e. Your Friends Only)
• Some of Your Friends (you will need to specify which friend or friend list)
• Only Me (i.e. No one except you)
PRIVATE
Networks
If you’ve joined a network or plan to join a network, be sure to specify
if members of your network can see the item
(an example of a “network” is your city/location).
Exceptions
Facebook allows you to identify exceptions. Identify friends or friend lists
that should not have access to this area. (example: if you have a friend list
for coworkers and you wish to NOT show them your personal photos, you
would specify your Coworkers list name in the box labeled “Except These
People”)
© 2009 Websmith Group www.websmithgroup.com

9. Search
Modify your search settings to specify who
can find you when searching
Facebook. If your Search Visibility is
set to “Everyone”, anyone with a
Facebook account can search on your
name and find your public listings. To
specify what they see on your public
listing, check the boxes below “How
Can People Contact You?”.
If you would like search engines to be
aware of your Facebook account,
please check the “Create a Public
Search Listing” option below Public
Search Listing.
© 2009 Websmith Group www.websmithgroup.com

10. Your News Feed
Specify the types of information that you’d like
others to know about your Facebook usage.
When you perform one of the checked
activities, your friends may be notified and/or
the information will be posted to your wall (ex:
Jane just commented on John’s photo).
© 2009 Websmith Group www.websmithgroup.com

11. Applications
To control or limit the information available to friends through applications that you do not
use. NOTE: Authorized application settings are modified on the Applications
Settings page (please select Settings Application Settings).
© 2009 Websmith Group www.websmithgroup.com

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© 2009 Websmith Group www.websmithgroup.com