Be diligent with your social media presence. Know how to set up your privacy settings to keep yourself and your personal information safe online.
What you need to know
Secure your namespace
Consider securing common social media spaces with your full name to preserve your ‘online brand’. You can keep the accounts private and out of public view if you are not an active user, but at least you will rest easy knowing that no one else can appropriate your identity.
Be in charge of your privacy settings
Social media platforms tend to default to a public privacy setting. Decide on your comfort level with regards to sharing information and ensure to set the appropriate privacy settings to limit who can view your posts.
Don’t overshare every moment
Sharing every moment of your day can compromise your physical security. Avoid posting your location or live travel photos online as this could give away that your home is unattended and/or give away your location to someone who may be trying to find you.
Know how to delete accounts
Did you know that it’s more difficult to delete some social media accounts than others? When closing an account, pay careful attention to whether your data is actually deleted, as a lot of social media platforms will only ‘disable’ your profile and won’t actually delete your information.