Protect Your Privacy on Facebook

Consider taking these five steps to increase your privacy on and off the Facebook platform:

  1. See what third-party apps are connected to your account. These apps can collect a lot of information from your Facebook profile.

    • Web: Settings → Apps

    • Android: Settings → Settings & Privacy → Account Settings → Apps

    • iOS: Settings → Accounts Settings → Apps

  2. Turn off Facebook’s app platform. If you don't use Facebook apps, or haven't since 2012, you might just want to turn off the Facebook app platform.

  3. Limit Facebook tracking on other websites. Many major websites include Facebook tracking code that tells Facebook what sites you visit.

    • Web: Install a tracker blocker extension in your web browser, like Disconnect.me, Ublock, or EFF’s Privacy Badger

    • Android: Google doesn’t allow apps that block trackers in other applications in the Play Store, but Disconnect offers the ability to “sideload” a tracker blocker from its site. You’ll need to authorize Android to download apps from services other than the Play Store 

    • iOS: The App Store offers several apps that blocks trackers, such as Crystal

  4. Don’t share your location. The Facebook app also tracks your location, even when you're not using Facebook.

    • Web: Web browsers will generally ask before giving permission to a site to access geolocation. And we are not aware of Facebook asking permission to track location in browsers.

    • Android: Go to your phone (not Facebook) settings: Settings → Apps & notification → App permissions → Location (deselect Facebook)

    • iOS: Go to your phone (not Facebook) settings: Settings → Privacy → Location Services → Facebook (select Never)

  5. See how advertisers target you on Facebook. Facebook offers a way to control the ads you see, but not a lot of people know about it.

    • Web: Settings → Ads

    • Android: Settings → Settings & Privacy → Account Settings → Ads

    • iOS: Settings → Accounts Settings → Ads