Many people don’t check their private settings on Facebook, which allows thousands of foreigners to follow their private holiday photos.
The Summer holidays have just begun and it probably does not come as a big surprise that social media is a big part of many people’s holidays.
No matter if the holiday takes place in your family’s holiday home, a weekend trip in the area around you or abroad, not many people forget to take their digital equipment.
After a whole day with a lot of new experiences, many people like to upload pictures on Facebook to show their friends and family how the day has been.
However, it can have major consequences if you do not check your private settings before going on holiday.
IT security expert Janus R. Nielsen from the IT company AnyTech365 gives advice to ensure your privacy on your holiday.
Only let your friends follow you
– Think about who has access to follow your Facebook updates. Even if your profile is not public so everyone can see it, many people can still see your updates if you have allowed your friends’ friends to follow your profile. Do you know who your friends’ friends are? It can be your Uncle’s neighbor, a work colleague’s Cousin or other strangers you don’t even know, who suddenly get the possibility to check up on everything you do on your holiday, explains IT security expert Janus R. Nielsen, and suggests the following:
– A good idea is to make your profile private in the security settings on Facebook.
First click on the arrow in the upper right corner, then click on “Settings” and then “Privacy”. Here you can choose for it to be only your friends who can see your posts. If you go to “Timeline and tagging” you can choose for it to be only your friends who can see the posts on your wall and also the posts where you are tagged on your timeline.
Another idea is to create a closed group with friends and family with whom you want to share your vacation photos.
Consider what information you provide
In the past, burglars looked for empty driveways, but today they can sit at home and check which houses are empty thanks to open Facebook profiles. Therefore, it is extremely important to secure your private settings so that your location can’t be tracked by everyone.
Think about what kind of information you are providing in your status updates. Try not to write that the house is empty and for how long you will be away. Also, avoid sending messages with private information on the walls of your friends so that everyone doesn’t get information about where the extra key is or that the back door to the cottage is not locked. Send a private message instead.
Another idea is to wait until you are home again to post photos on Facebook.
Think one more time before tagging other people
Remember that you are the master of the posts and photos that you are uploading to Facebook, but always think one more time before including other people in your updates. It’s worth taking a moment to think about whether the people in the photos want to be identified. It’s bad enough if you have posted that you are spending the vacation far away from home and take the risk to come home to an empty house, but if you have decided to involve a family member who does not have their private settings on Facebook under control, the situation is even worse. Therefore, think about who you tag and what kind of photos you upload.
– It is far from certain that the photos you put on Facebook will disappear completely at any time, even if you have deleted them yourself. Photos you share on Facebook can be used by anyone for anything. Therefore, it is extremely important to think once again before sharing photos of others, says Janus R. Nielsen, and adding;
– A good rule is to ask yourself if you would like a similar picture of yourself posted on Facebook. Or even better, ask the person in the picture if it is okay that their picture will be posted on social media.
Approve your friend’s tags before they appear on your timeline
Set your profile so that you have to approve the posts that your friends tag you in. That way you can decide which posts will be shown on your timeline. Go to “Timeline and tagging” where you enable that you want to approve the photos and updates where you are tagged before they appear on your timeline. This way, you ensure that images and posts that you do not want to be a part of will not be visible on your timeline.
