Safety net
27 Jul 2018
Social media is a great way to keep in touch with family, friends and Club members, but we all need to keep an eye on our personal data
Technology has meant that keeping in touch as we get older is easier than ever before, but it is wise to keep an eye on what information we put online and how the various companies treat it.
Social media platforms are constantly updating their terms of service, which makes it tricky to keep up when the goal posts seemingly change daily. Regardless, you can do many things to maintain your account security and hopefully continue to enjoy the connections that social media enables.
Fight identity theft
While many fake social media accounts use made-up information, some accounts use the personal images and information of real people. These accounts are often used to scam friends of the original user, who are unaware that the person they are communicating with isn’t their actual friend. Often, personal information taken from social media accounts is used by scammers to target people offline via a phone call, email or letter.
To minimise the risk of identity theft, be careful who you “friend” online and where you display personal information such as your birth date, address or phone number. Additionally, be careful who you share your routine and plans with. Divulging to a stranger that you’re chatting to online that you live alone or are about to go on holidays isn’t advisable.
Do an about face
Used by airports, police departments and now Facebook, facial recognition technology enables a computer to scan a person’s face to create a unique facial signature. Facebook uses this technology to identify a person within photos uploaded to the platform. Yet many users are uncomfortable with Facebook having this level of power.
Many people who are concerned about having their image misused choose to keep images of their face off social media altogether. Those that want to keep their face displayed on their profile picture can now adjust their account settings to block the use of facial recognition technology. This means that photos of you uploaded to the site won’t automatically be identified.
Be an adbuster
If you’ve ever wondered why ads for cleaning services pop up in your feed directly after you searched for a cleaner, it’s because your Facebook settings allow advertisers to target you based on your age, sex, location and browsing habits.
Apart from being unsettling, this type of targeted advertising is a lucrative money spinner for Facebook which made $40 billion dollars in advertising revenue in 2017.
If you’re uncomfortable with Facebook allowing advertisers to target you based on your age, location or browsing history, simply adjust your privacy settings within your Facebook profile. You’ll still see ads in your social media feed, but they won’t be based on your personal information or previous searches.
Increase your password strength
Having a hacker infiltrate your account can be devastating. Thankfully, one of the easiest ways to reduce the risk of having your social media profile hacked takes only a minute to complete.
Remembering passwords may not be your strong point, but the more complicated your password is, the harder it is for others to infiltrate your account. Having a long, unique password containing a combination of upper case and lower case letters, numbers and other characters, represents a greater challenge for hackers than a simple password.
So simply increase your password strength, amend your privacy settings and strip your account of personal information - in only minutes your account with be more secure than before.
®