Tips on how to manage your privacy on Facebook
WASHINGTON - The Facebook privacy scandal has many people concerned if their information is at risk on the social media site.
Thomas Sanchez, the CEO of Social Driver, has provided some tips to help Facebook users determine if their information was compromised and how to secure your Facebook page.
PRIVACY CHECKUP
Facebook's latest effort to address privacy concerns has included new tabs that include a privacy checkup and privacy shortcuts, which are aimed at making it easier for users to navigate the site.
"The Privacy Checkup area - it's almost like a step-by-step wizard that going to walk you through adjusting your settings," said Sanchez.
That includes what your friends, family and advertisers can see. Sanchez said this is where you will be able to see which third-party apps have access to your basic data.
"You would want to go through here and be able to remove these apps, especially if you are not using them. Just click 'Delete App' and it is going to be that simple."
Also under Privacy Checkup, Facebook has created a new privacy basics tab designed to teach you the basics of Facebook security and how to manage your privacy settings.
PRIVACY SHORTCUTS
"This is a deep dive into who can see your data, who can contact you and how to report a problem if you spot one," Sanchez said.
Facebook users will also see a backlog showing who has viewed your data and how it is being used.
HOW CAN YOU TELL IF YOUR INFO WAS SHARED WITH CAMBRIDGE ANALYTICA?
"What you are going to see on the app and inside your news feed is an alert and it is going to tell you that you have been affected," said Sanchez. "They are going to be rolling out those notifications over the next week or so."
Facebook users can also check if their data was impacted by going to Facebook's help page.
DATA ABUSE BOUNTY
The company has also launched a Data Abuse Bounty program where users are incentivized to report apps that misuse users' data.
"This program will reward people with first-hand knowledge and proof of cases where a Facebook platform app collects and transfers people's data to another party to be sold, stolen or used for scams or political influence," Collin Greene, head of Product Security for Facebook, wrote in a post Tuesday. "Just like the bug bounty program, we will reward based on the impact of each report. While there is no maximum, high impact bug reports have garnered as much as $40,000 for people who bring them to our attention."
5 TIPS FOR BETTER PRIVACY ON FACEBOOK
Social Driver also has a security checklist available to anyone looking for an additional layer of security:
1. Disable Location Services
2. Add a layer of security with Two-Factor Authentication
3. Don't become an advertisement
4. Take control of your profile
5. Stop the spread of third-party data use