Social Media Privacy Guide: Protect Your Information Online

Social Media Privacy Guide

Social media platforms are some of the biggest collectors of personal data. They track your interests, relationships, location, political views, and daily habits. While many people choose to use social media, you can significantly reduce the amount of data these platforms collect about you.

What Social Media Knows About You

• Your real name, age, location, employer, and relationship status
• Your interests based on posts, likes, comments, and browsing behavior
• Your social graph: who you know, who you interact with, and how closely
• Your location history from check-ins, geotagged posts, and device tracking
• Shadow profiles: data collected about you even if you do not have an account
• Off-platform tracking through embedded widgets and pixels on other websites

Platform-Specific Privacy Actions

• Facebook/Meta: Disable off-Facebook activity tracking, limit ad personalization, review connected apps, restrict who can find your profile
• Instagram: Switch to private account, disable activity status, limit data sharing with Meta partners
• Twitter/X: Disable personalized ads, turn off location tagging, review connected apps
• LinkedIn: Restrict profile visibility, disable activity broadcasts, limit data sharing
• TikTok: Set account to private, disable personalized ads, limit data downloads

General Social Media Privacy Practices

• Do not use your real phone number for social media accounts; use your anonymous eSIM number instead
• Use a unique email address for each platform
• Avoid using social login (Sign in with Google/Facebook) on other websites
• Review and remove old posts that reveal personal information
• Be cautious about sharing vacation plans, daily routines, or home photos
• Do not participate in quizzes or surveys that harvest personal data
• Strip EXIF data from photos before uploading

The Privacy-Conscious Approach

For maximum privacy, consider these approaches:

• Use pseudonymous accounts not linked to your real identity
• Access social media through a dedicated browser or container
• Use a VPN to prevent IP-based tracking
• Register accounts with your anonymous eSIM phone number

Social media is designed to encourage oversharing. Every piece of information you post becomes part of a profile that platforms sell to advertisers. Be intentional about what you share and with whom.