Privacy settings control who can see what you post, what personal details your accounts share with advertisers, and how easily strangers can find you. Every major social media and tech platform groups these controls into a few common categories. Once you know the categories, you can find and adjust them on almost any app, even after the platform redesigns its menus.
This guide walks through the settings that matter most, in plain language, so you can decide what fits your comfort level.
The Five Setting Categories Every Platform Has
Menu names change often, but the underlying controls fall into these groups on nearly every platform:
- Audience for posts: Who can see what you share — everyone, friends only, or a custom list.
- Profile visibility: Whether your profile, photo, contact info, or friends list is searchable by the public.
- Location and tagging: Whether your posts attach your location, and whether other people can tag you without approval.
- Ad and data personalization: Whether the platform uses your activity, contacts, or off-platform browsing to target ads.
- Connected apps and logins: Which outside apps or websites you’ve given permission to access your account data.
Go through each category on every platform you use. Most apps default to the most public, most data-sharing option, so checking your settings is the only way to know what’s actually turned on.
Checklist: Settings to Review on Every Platform
- Set post visibility to friends-only or a custom audience instead of public.
- Turn off location tagging for posts and photos unless you need it.
- Require approval before a tag of you appears on your profile.
- Turn off ad personalization based on your activity, contacts, or other apps and websites, where the platform offers that option.
- Review the list of third-party apps connected to your account and remove any you no longer use.
- Check who can find your profile using your phone number or email address, and restrict it if the option exists.
- Review your account’s login activity for devices or locations you don’t recognize.
You won’t find every one of these settings worded the same way on every platform, but nearly all major platforms offer some version of each item above.
Why Data Brokers Matter Even If You Lock Down Social Media
Tightening your social media settings only covers what you post yourself. Separately, companies called data brokers collect information about you from public records, purchase history, and other sources, then sell profiles built from that data to marketers and other businesses. The Federal Trade Commission has documented this industry and advises consumers that some data brokers offer a way to see what information they hold and to opt out of having it sold. Coverage tends to vary by company, and not every broker offers an opt-out.
If you want to limit what data brokers hold, start by searching your own name to see what turns up, then look for an opt-out or “do not sell my info” link on any site that lists your details.
Comparing Privacy Controls Across Platforms
These five categories cover almost every setting you’ll come across, whatever the platform calls them:
- Post audience: Look for an option to switch from “public” to “friends” or a custom list. This limits who sees new posts, not just future strangers.
- Past post visibility: Look for a bulk tool to limit old public posts to a smaller audience. Old posts often stay public even after you change your default going forward.
- Location sharing: Look for a toggle for attaching location to posts or stories. Turning it off prevents strangers from tracking where you are or aren’t.
- Ad personalization: Look for a setting for activity-based or off-platform ad tracking. Turning it off reduces how much of your browsing feeds into ad profiles.
- Connected apps: Look for a list of third-party apps with account access. Old, unused apps are a common way accounts get compromised.
A Simple Decision Path
- If you mainly want to keep strangers out: Start with post audience and profile search settings.
- If you’re worried about being tracked or followed: Start with location tagging and check-ins.
- If you’re worried about targeted ads and data collection: Start with ad personalization and connected apps.
- If you want to reduce your footprint everywhere, not just on one app: Add a data broker opt-out check to your list.
Build Privacy Settings Into Your Broader Security Habits
The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency’s Secure Our World program recommends a small set of habits that support everything above: use long, unique passwords for each account, turn on multi-factor authentication wherever it’s offered, watch for phishing attempts asking you to click a link or share information, and keep your apps and software updated. Privacy settings control what you share on purpose. These habits help protect the account itself, since a strong privacy setup doesn’t help much if someone else logs into your account.
A password manager makes the first habit realistic across dozens of accounts. If you haven’t set one up yet, our guide to password manager basics walks through how they work and why reused passwords are a major risk.
Watching for phishing matters just as much on your phone as it does in your inbox. Scammers increasingly use fake pop-ups and QR codes to get around your privacy settings entirely by tricking you into handing over information directly. See our guides on tech support scams and QR code scams for how to spot them.
Extra Caution for Public Figures, Teens, and Anyone Being Harassed
Some people face higher stakes from loose privacy settings. If you’re a teacher, a public official, a survivor of harassment or stalking, or a parent of a teenager, tighten every category above rather than the minimum, and check settings more often since platforms sometimes reset defaults after an update. If someone is actively harassing or threatening you, document the messages and consider contacting the platform and, if you feel unsafe, local law enforcement.
Evidence Limits
Platform menus change frequently, and this guide describes the categories of settings that exist across most major platforms rather than exact button locations on any one app, since those steps can shift after a redesign. Always check your specific app’s current privacy or settings menu to find the exact wording it uses. Coverage and effectiveness of data broker opt-outs also vary by company and aren’t guaranteed to remove all your information.
FAQ
Does making my account private stop companies from collecting my data?
No. A private account limits who can see your posts, but the platform itself, and any data brokers that buy from public records or other sources, can still collect information about you. Privacy settings and data broker opt-outs address different problems.
Will turning off ad personalization mean I see no ads at all?
No. You’ll still see ads, but they’re less likely to be based on your specific activity, contacts, or browsing on other sites and apps.
How often should I check my privacy settings?
Check after any major app update, since platforms sometimes reset defaults, and review your full settings at least twice a year as a general habit.
Can removing an old connected app affect posts I already made?
No. Removing a connected app’s access only stops future data sharing with that app. It doesn’t delete or change anything you already posted through it.
Educational Disclaimer
This article is for general educational purposes only. It is not legal advice and does not replace a platform’s own help center or a qualified attorney for questions about your specific rights. Settings, menu names, and data broker practices change over time and can vary by account type and region.
