What Are SNS Privacy Settings

SNS privacy settings are a set of controls for managing the visibility of your personal information and posts on social media platforms. They cover a wide range of items including profile information visibility, post audience, location sharing, tagging permissions, and ad personalization.

Many users use social media with default settings, but defaults are often designed to prioritize the platform's interests (maximizing ad revenue, boosting user engagement) and are not optimal from a privacy protection standpoint.

Information posted on social media constitutes a major part of your digital footprint. Since published information can persist semi-permanently through screenshots and archives, both pre-posting judgment and proper privacy settings are important.

Key Settings to Review

While settings vary by platform, there are important items common across all social media.

Account Public/Private: Public accounts allow anyone to view posts. Setting to private (locked account) limits viewing to approved followers only. X (formerly Twitter) and Instagram offer private settings
Profile Information Visibility: Control who can see personal information like phone number, email, date of birth, and location. Facebook allows per-item settings of "Public," "Friends Only," or "Only Me"
Location Sharing: Whether to attach location data to posts. Recommended to disable by default as it risks revealing home and workplace locations
Tagging Controls: Whether other users can tag you, and whether to require approval before tagged posts appear on your profile
Search Engine Indexing: Whether your profile is indexed by search engines like Google. Facebook and LinkedIn have this setting
Ad Personalization: Whether to allow ad targeting based on browsing history and interests. Also includes permission settings for behavioral tracking via tracking pixels

Attacks and Risks Exploiting Social Media

Public information on social media is a valuable intelligence source for attackers.

Social Engineering: Using publicly available hobbies, social connections, employer, and alma mater to send trust-building messages and extract sensitive information. Tactics like "I'm a fellow alumnus" or "I was referred by a mutual friend"
Improved Phishing Accuracy: Identifying services used and interests from social media posts to craft sophisticated phishing emails (spear phishing)
Password Reset Bypass: Security question answers (pet's name, mother's maiden name, alma mater) may be guessable from social media posts
Physical Risks: Real-time location sharing or travel posts can reveal that your home is unoccupied. Cases of burglary linked to such posts have been reported

Metadata also requires attention. If photo Exif data contains GPS coordinates, the shooting location can be identified. Major social media platforms automatically strip Exif on upload, but not all platforms do this.

SNS Privacy Settings Practical Checklist

Review your social media privacy settings regularly (every 3-6 months recommended) using this checklist.

Audit Profile Information: Remove or hide unnecessary public information such as phone number, email, date of birth, and address
Review Past Posts: Check whether posts from years ago contain inappropriate content or excessive personal information. Facebook has a feature to bulk-change the audience of past posts
Clean Up Connected Apps: Review third-party apps connected to your social media accounts and revoke access for apps you no longer use. Abandoned app connections become a data breach risk
Enable Two-Factor Authentication: Always enable two-factor authentication to prevent account hijacking. Authenticator apps are recommended over SMS authentication
Review Ad Settings: Check ad personalization settings and disable unnecessary tracking
Check Login Activity: Verify there are no logins from suspicious devices or locations, and force logout any unrecognized sessions

To learn more about this topic, see Social Media Privacy Settings: Managing Your Public Profile.

Common Misconceptions

Setting an account to private (locked) guarantees posts never leak externally: Even with a private account, approved followers can take screenshots and share them externally. There have also been past incidents where platform bugs or setting changes temporarily made posts public. Private settings are an effective measure but not an absolute guarantee.
SNS privacy settings only need to be configured once: Social media platforms frequently change privacy setting items and specifications. Updates may add new settings or change default values. Regular review is essential.

Social Media Privacy Settings