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Communicate About Privacy

Talk to friends and family about what information you prefer to keep private, and what you would or wouldn't be comfortable with them posting about you.

Everyone has the right to participate in social media. If you are a survivor of domestic abuse, sexual assault, and/or stalking, it is important to learn ways to stay connected while protecting your privacy and security.

Learn About Online Privacy

Periodically search for yourself using a search engine to see what information others can see about you. Try using multiple search engines, as well as including an image search. Make sure to perform the search using a private browsing window as search engines customize results if you’re signed in, and/or based on what results you’ve clicked in the past.

Adjust Your Privacy Settings

When you open a new social media account or start using a new app or device, review the privacy settings to make sure they reflect what you want to share with whom. Some settings we recommend reviewing include:

  1. Location services and frequent places (on apps, sites, and devices);
  2. Settings that limit what other people can post about you, such as requiring your approval for people to post on your timeline or tag you in photos, or whether other people can "check you into" a place.

Use these guides to help you identify and change the settings most important to you:

Privacy Tips for Businesses

When you’re running a small business, it’s helpful to actively manage your reputation.

  1. Your profiles on social media and review sites are likely to be in the top search results for your business name. If you manage and update those profiles, your customers and business contacts are more likely to see the information that you want them to see.
    • Comprehensive Steps for Reputation Management: The Online Reputation Management Guide (Disclaimer: This advice comes from a marketing firm, so it contains a few plugs for their services, but it is generally sound.)
  2. Make sure only trusted employees can post on social media sites using the official business account; one inappropriate or misinterpreted post could cause significant damage to your business’s reputation. One way to minimize misinterpreted posts is to require multiple employees to review posts before they are made public. Also, be sure to remove access when an employee leaves.

If customers, clients, or donors contact you, don't pass the communication along or post it publicly without asking them. This applies to both positive and negative feedback, as well as other types of information.

  1. If someone gives you a great review, ask them before you post their name or photo or anything else identifiable about them.
  2. If you're quoting something someone posted on a public site, or you're responding to a review, don't add other information you know about the individual without asking them.

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