Use this guide if you have not looked at your privacy settings for a while, or if you are worried about who can see your family photos or location. Have your phone or computer and the logins for each social media account you use.
Step by step
List your accounts
Write down every social media, messaging and photo-sharing account you have, including old ones you no longer use. Delete or deactivate any you do not need, as dormant accounts can still expose information. Start with the account you use most.
Run the built-in privacy check
Most major platforms have a privacy check-up or privacy centre in settings. Work through it and set your posts and profile to friends or followers only unless you have a reason to be public. Check who can find you by email address or phone number.
Remove personal details
Look at your profile for your date of birth, home town, workplace, school, phone number and email address. Hide or remove anything a fraudster could use to guess passwords or answer security questions. Consider what your profile photo and cover photo reveal.
Check location and photo tagging
Turn off location tagging on posts and check whether old posts show where you live. Set tagging so that you approve photos before they appear on your profile. Avoid posting that you are away from home until you are back.
Review connected apps and logins
In security settings, look at which apps, games and websites are connected to your account and remove those you do not recognise. Check the list of devices logged in and sign out of any you do not use. Turn on 2-step verification if you have not already.
See your profile as a stranger
Use the view as public or profile preview option if there is one, or log out and search for yourself. Check what a stranger can see and adjust anything you are not happy with. Set a reminder to repeat this check every few months.
Ready-to-use checklist
- All accounts listed
- Unused accounts deleted
- Posts set to friends or followers
- Date of birth and phone number hidden
- Location tagging off
- Tag approval switched on
- Unknown connected apps removed
- Profile checked as a stranger
Practical tips
- Old posts can be limited in one go on some platforms using a limit past posts setting.
- Think twice before sharing children's school uniforms, full names or daily routines publicly.
- Do not use social media answers such as a pet's name as security answers elsewhere.
Common problems
Strangers keep sending me friend or follow requests.
Set your account to private and limit who can send requests or messages. Do not accept people you do not know, and block and report accounts that pester you.
Someone has shared a photo of me I do not want online.
Ask them politely to remove it first. If they will not, use the platform's reporting tool, and for anything threatening or intimate report it to the platform urgently and consider contacting the police.
I cannot find a setting the guide mentions.
Platforms move their menus often. Search the app's help centre or settings search box for the setting name, such as location or tagging.
This guide gives general information, not personal legal, financial or medical advice. Rules and prices change, so check the current position with the official service before acting.
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