Social media is an integral part of our lives. According to the latest statistics, over 4.9 billion people use social media worldwide, and the average user spends 2.5 hours per day on social platforms.

Did you know that social media is one of the largest sources of data breaches? Facebook - 533 million users (2021), LinkedIn - 700 million users (2021) - these giants have fallen victim to massive data breaches. What's worse, many people don't realize how much data they share publicly.

In this comprehensive guide, we'll show you how to protect your data on social media, what privacy settings are most important, and how to avoid the most common mistakes.

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1. Why Are Social Media Platforms Dangerous?

Risk of Data Breaches

Statistics that should concern you:

• Facebook - 533 million users (2021) - data leaked
• LinkedIn - 700 million users (2021) - data leaked
• Instagram - millions of accounts - regular data breaches
• On average 287 days - time to detect breach without professional protection
• Billions of records are sold on Dark Web every year

What Can Criminals Do With Your Data?

1. Identity Theft

• Use data to open accounts with your data
• Create fake profiles
• Use data to answer security questions

2. Spear Phishing (Targeted Phishing)

• Create detailed victim profiles
• Send personalized phishing messages
• Use profile data for convincing attacks

3. Scams

• Contact your friends impersonating you
• Ask for money or data
• Use your image for scams

4. Data Sales

• Sell data on Dark Web
• Sell data to marketing companies
• Sell data to scammers

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2. Facebook - How to Protect Your Data?

Privacy Settings

1. Who Can See Your Posts?

• Set to "Friends Only" or "Only Me"
• Don't set to "Public" - everyone can see
• Check settings for each post separately

How to change:

• Settings → Privacy → Who can see your future posts
• Select "Friends Only"

2. Who Can Find You?

• Limit who can find you by email
• Limit who can find you by phone number
• Consider hiding profile in search engines

How to change:

• Settings → Privacy → How people can find and contact you
• Limit access to email and phone number

3. Who Can Send You Friend Requests?

• Limit who can send requests
• Avoid requests from strangers
• Check profiles before accepting requests

How to change:

• Settings → Privacy → How people can find and contact you
• Limit who can send requests

Security Settings

1. Enable Two-Factor Authentication (2FA)

• Even if someone steals your password, they won't be able to log in
• Enable in security settings
• Use authorization app (Google Authenticator, Authy)

How to enable:

• Settings → Security and Login → Two-Factor Authentication
• Select method (authorization app)
• Follow instructions

2. Check Login Activity

• Regularly check where you're logged in from
• Check if there are suspicious logins
• Log out from unknown devices

How to check:

• Settings → Security and Login → Where You're Logged In
• Check all active sessions
• Log out from suspicious devices

3. Set Up Notifications for Suspicious Activity

• Receive notifications about logins from new devices
• Receive notifications about setting changes
• Receive notifications about suspicious activity

How to enable:

• Settings → Security and Login → Setting Up Extra Security
• Enable notifications for logins and changes

What NOT to Share on Facebook?

1. Date of Birth

• Used to answer security questions
• Used for identity theft
• Hide date of birth or set to "Only Me"

2. Home Address

• Used for identity theft
• Used for scams
• Don't share address publicly

3. Phone Number

• Used for SMS phishing (smishing)
• Used for phone scams
• Hide phone number or set to "Only Me"

4. Workplace Information

• Used for spear phishing
• Used for scams
• Limit access to workplace information

5. Family Information

• Used for scams
• Used to answer security questions
• Don't share family information publicly

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3. Instagram - How to Protect Your Data?

Privacy Settings

1. Private Account

• Set account to private
• Only approved followers can see your posts
• You control who can follow you

How to enable:

• Settings → Privacy → Private Account
• Enable "Private Account"

2. Who Can Send You Messages?

• Limit who can send you messages
• Avoid messages from strangers
• Check messages before responding

How to change:

• Settings → Privacy → Messages
• Limit who can send you messages

3. Who Can Tag You in Posts?

• Control who can tag you in posts
• Review tags before publishing
• Remove unwanted tags

How to change:

• Settings → Privacy → Posts
• Enable "Review Tags"

Security Settings

1. Enable 2FA

• Even if someone steals your password, they won't be able to log in
• Enable in security settings
• Use authorization app

How to enable:

• Settings → Security → Two-Factor Authentication
• Select method (authorization app)
• Follow instructions

2. Check Login Activity

• Regularly check where you're logged in from
• Check if there are suspicious logins
• Log out from unknown devices

How to check:

• Settings → Security → Login Activity
• Check all active sessions
• Log out from suspicious devices

What NOT to Share on Instagram?

1. Real-Time Location

• Used for tracking
• Used for theft
• Don't share location in real time

2. Home Address Information

• Used for theft
• Used for scams
• Don't share home address

3. Family Information

• Used for scams
• Used to answer security questions
• Don't share family information

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4. LinkedIn - How to Protect Your Data?

Privacy Settings

1. Who Can See Your Profile?

• Limit who can see your profile
• Consider hiding profile in search engines
• Control who can see your connections

How to change:

• Settings → Privacy → Profile Visibility
• Limit access to profile

2. Who Can Send You Invitations?

• Limit who can send invitations
• Avoid invitations from strangers
• Check profiles before accepting invitations

How to change:

• Settings → Privacy → Communication
• Limit who can send invitations

3. Who Can See Your Connections?

• Hide connection list
• Prevents criminals from creating fake profiles
• Control access to connections

How to change:

• Settings → Privacy → Visibility → Connections
• Hide connection list

Security Settings

1. Enable 2FA

• Even if someone steals your password, they won't be able to log in
• Enable in security settings
• Use authorization app

How to enable:

• Settings → Security → Two-Factor Authentication
• Select method (authorization app)
• Follow instructions

2. Check Login Activity

• Regularly check where you're logged in from
• Check if there are suspicious logins
• Log out from unknown devices

How to check:

• Settings → Security → Login Activity
• Check all active sessions
• Log out from suspicious devices

What NOT to Share on LinkedIn?

1. Detailed Workplace Information

• Used for spear phishing
• Used for scams
• Limit access to workplace information

2. Work Email Address

• Used for phishing
• Used for scams
• Don't share work email address publicly

3. Work Phone Number

• Used for SMS phishing
• Used for phone scams
• Don't share work phone number publicly

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5. General Social Media Security Rules

1. Limit Data Sharing

Rules:

• Don't share more data than necessary
• Check if data is really needed
• Don't share data publicly

What NOT to share:

• Date of birth
• Home address
• Phone number
• Social Security Number
• Family information
• Detailed workplace information

2. Use Strong Passwords

Rules:

• Minimum 12 characters
• Mix of letters, numbers, and symbols
• Different passwords for different platforms
• Password manager (1Password, LastPass, Bitwarden)

Why it's important:

• If one account leaks, others are safe
• Strong passwords are harder to crack
• Password manager generates and stores passwords securely

3. Enable 2FA Everywhere

Why 2FA is crucial:

• Even if someone steals your password, they won't be able to log in
• Additional layer of protection
• Enable on all social media platforms

How to enable:

• Log into platform
• Go to security settings
• Enable two-factor authentication
• Use authorization app (Google Authenticator, Authy)

4. Regularly Review Privacy Settings

How often:

• At least once a month
• After every major platform update
• If you notice suspicious activity

What to check:

• Who can see your posts
• Who can find your profile
• Who can send you messages
• Who can tag you in posts

5. Beware of Phishing

Rules:

• Don't click links in messages
• Check sender addresses
• Don't provide data via messages
• Real platforms NEVER ask for passwords via messages

6. Check Data Breaches

Why it's important:

• If your data leaked, criminals can use it
• Check free report on Privaro - has your data been breached?
• Privaro offers 24/7 monitoring - notifications within 24h

How it works:

• Privaro scans Dark Web and all known databases
• When it finds your data - immediately notifies you
• You receive detailed report on breaches

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6. What to Do If Your Account Has Been Hacked?

Immediate Actions

1. Change Password

• Change password immediately
• Use strong, unique password
• Use password manager

2. Log Out from All Devices

• Log out from all devices
• Check if there are suspicious devices
• Enable 2FA if you don't have it yet

3. Check Activity

• Check all posts and messages
• Check if there's suspicious activity
• Delete suspicious posts and messages

4. Report Incident

• Report hacking to platform
• Report to appropriate authorities (if needed)
• Notify friends about hacking

5. Check Data Breaches

• Check if your data has been breached - free report on Privaro
• If data leaked - change passwords everywhere
• Enable monitoring - Privaro offers 24/7 monitoring

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7. Summary - Your Checklist

✅ Privacy Settings:

• Set posts to "Friends Only" (not "Public")
• Limit who can find your profile
• Limit who can send you messages
• Hide date of birth, address, phone number
• Regularly review privacy settings

✅ Security:

• Use strong, unique passwords
• Enable 2FA on all platforms
• Regularly check login activity
• Enable notifications for suspicious activity
• Beware of phishing

✅ What NOT to Share:

• Date of birth
• Home address
• Phone number
• Family information
• Detailed workplace information

✅ Regularly Check:

• If your data has been breached - Check free report on Privaro
• Login activity
• Posts and messages
• Privacy settings

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Don't Wait - Protect Yourself Today!

Social media is an integral part of our lives, but it can be dangerous. 533 million Facebook users and 700 million LinkedIn users have fallen victim to data breaches. You don't have to be one of the victims.

Remember:

• 533 million Facebook users - data leaked (2021)
• 700 million LinkedIn users - data leaked (2021)
• 287 days - average time to detect breach without professional protection

Protect yourself now:

1. Check if your data has been breached - Generate a free report on Privaro. It takes less than 10 seconds.

2. Enable professional monitoring - Privaro offers 24/7 data breach monitoring. You'll receive notifications within 24 hours of breach detection, instead of waiting 287 days.

3. Apply rules from this guide - limit data sharing, enable 2FA, regularly review privacy settings.

Your social media security is in your hands. Don't share more than necessary.

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Remember: Social media is not just entertainment - it's also a place where your data can be used against you. The best protection is limiting data sharing, strong passwords, 2FA, and regularly checking for breaches.

This article was created by the Privaro team - experts in data protection and cybersecurity.