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

Social media allows us to stay connected, share memories, and express ourselves online. But these platforms also collect incredible amounts of personal data for advertising purposes.

Your privacy settings give you control over how much information Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and others access about your life. Keep reading as I break down how to update your preferences on each platform from the perspective of a cybersecurity expert.

Securing Your Twitter Privacy

Twitter collects a wealth of data on its over 300 million active users. From your tweets, likes, location, interests, and more, Twitter assembles a detailed profile for ad targeting.

For example, Twitter tracks:

• Your device information like OS, settings, WiFi networks
• All tweets you send, view, or interact with
• Your approximate location via GPS, WiFi networks, mobile towers
• Contacts you interact with frequently
• Topics and interests you engage with

Adjusting your Twitter privacy settings limits this pervasive data collection and visibility into your activity.

Here‘s how to lock down your account on desktop and mobile:

Customize Twitter Privacy Settings on Desktop

1. Go to Twitter.com and log in. Click your profile photo.

2. Select Settings and privacy then go to Privacy and safety.

3. Under Tweets, switch your account to Protect my Tweets so only followers see your posts.

4. For Photo tagging, disable options so others can‘t tag you.

5. Under Discoverability and contacts, limit account suggestions and remove contacts.

6. In Content you see, uncheck sensitive media and location permissions.

7. Under Audience insights, limit ad targeting based on activity data.

Tighten Twitter Privacy on Mobile

1. In the Twitter app, tap your profile icon then choose Settings and privacy.

2. Go to Privacy and safety > Tweets and enable Protect my Tweets.

3. Tap Photo tagging and turn off tagging abilities.

4. Disable options under Discoverability and contacts.

5. Adjust Content you see to limit location/interest tracking.

6. Opt out of Personalization and data collection for ads.

Twitter recently settled an FTC privacy lawsuit alleging they used account security flaws to target ads. Adjust these settings to avoid contributing data for misuse.

Extra Twitter Privacy Tips

• Delete old tweets and media for a clean slate.

• Review permitted apps under privacy settings.

• Disable read receipts for DMs.

• Limit ad partner sharing under Personalization and data.

Securing Your Facebook Privacy

With over 2.8 billion monthly active users, Facebook collects exabytes worth of data including posts, messages, interests, photos, and more. They use this intel to serve hyper-targeted ads.

For example, Facebook gathers data on:

• Pages/posts you view, like, share
• Your interactions, relationships, and conversations
• Location history from devices
• Apps and websites you use
• Demographic info like age, gender identity, income

Facebook‘s default privacy settings showcase your posts to the world. Here‘s how to limit your exposure:

Customize Facebook Privacy Settings on Desktop

1. Go to Facebook.com, click your profile picture, and select Settings & privacy.

2. Click Settings then go to Privacy.

3. Under Your activity, limit post audience to Only me or Friends.

4. For How people find and contact you, disable searchability by name/email/number.

5. In Your ad preferences, opt out of all interest categories.

6. Under Face recognition, disable so Facebook can‘t identify you in photos/videos.

7. In Apps and websites, revoke permissions for unneeded third-party access.

Lock Down Facebook Privacy on Mobile

1. In the Facebook app, tap the menu icon and choose Settings & privacy.

2. Select Settings then tap Privacy.

3. Adjust Activity status, Posts, and Profile to limit visibility.

4. Disable facial recognition under Face Recognition.

5. Tap How people find you and turn off searchability.

6. Remove past location details and turn off location services.

7. Opt out of targeted advertising under Ads.

Facebook has a history of questionable research practices and data misuse. These settings give you control over their access.

Extra Facebook Privacy Tips

• Limit past post visibility so only you can see them.

• Remove tags that expose your contacts and interests.

• Block app invites that gain access to your data.

• Review login approvals for secure account access.

Securing Your Instagram Privacy

As a Facebook-owned app, Instagram similarly tracks user data for advertising. Information they may collect includes:

• Your posts, likes, stories, browsing, and search history
• Location, device details, contacts
• Interactions with others on the platform
• Demographic data like age, gender, interests

Instagram‘s default public setting exposes your entire profile. Make it private:

Make Instagram Profile Private on Desktop

1. Go to Instagram.com, click your profile icon, and choose Settings.

2. Select Privacy and Security in the menu.

3. Toggle Private Account so only followers see your posts.

4. Under Account Privacy, disable Activity Status and Story Sharing.

5. For Messages, disallow new message requests from people you don‘t follow.

Make Instagram Profile Private on Mobile

1. Open the Instagram app and go to your profile page.

2. Tap the menu icon and select Settings.

3. Choose Privacy and enable Private Account.

4. Turn off Show Activity Status and Story Sharing.

5. Tap Messages to limit new conversations to followers only.

Over 90% of teens make their Instagram accounts private for good reason – it puts you in control.

Extra Instagram Privacy Tips

• Frequently delete old posts and stories to erase history.

• Remove geotags that expose your location history.

• Block accounts that you don‘t want viewing your profile.

• Limit tags to only those you approve first.

Securing Your YouTube Privacy

YouTube serves over a billion hours of video per day while tracking viewing habits, search history, interests, demographics, device details and more. They leverage this for personalized ads.

Data YouTube collects can include:

• Videos watched/searched for
• Watch time and frequency
• Interactions like likes, shares, comments
• Browsing activity across Google services
• Location, search history, device info
• Inferred interests and demographics

YouTube saves your data by default. Here‘s how to change this:

Manage Your YouTube Privacy Settings on Desktop

1. Go to YouTube.com, click your profile picture, and choose Settings.

2. Select Privacy in the menu.

3. Under Your data in YouTube, pause watch history and disable other activity collection.

4. In Ads, opt out of personalized ads based on your information.

5. For Cookies and site data, disable ad personalization.

Increase YouTube Privacy on Mobile

1. In the YouTube app, tap your profile icon and select Settings.

2. Tap History & privacy and disable watch history.

3. Choose Your data in YouTube to delete activity.

4. Under Ads, opt out of personalized ads.

5. Enable Incognito mode to stop tracking for private browsing.

Be mindful of your YouTube kids‘ privacy also – disable search and watch history under Child account settings.

Additional YouTube Privacy Tips

• Use a brand account without personal details for more anonymity.

• Delete specific videos from watch history or entire history entirely.

• Disable video suggestions to avoid manipulative "recommended" content.

• Make playlists private so only you can view them.

I hope this deep dive helps you better secure your privacy on today‘s top social platforms. Let me know if you have any other questions! I‘m always happy to help break down complex privacy settings into actionable improvements.