The 3 Privacy Settings You Should Change In Your Social Media Apps Right Now To Stop Excessive Data Tracking, Pros Say
February 6, 2025 by Lisa Cupido
Social media apps are among the biggest offenders when it comes to tracking your data and invading your privacy. When you think about all of the data that you provide these apps, including your contacts, personal information, photos, and even credit card info in some cases, it’s no wonder data breaches can occur at the hands of many social media apps. The majority of social media apps also strike up deals with third-party advertisers to provide some of your data in exchange for profits.
If none of this is sitting well with you, there are a few steps you can take to stop social media apps from excessive data tracking. Consider modifying these three privacy settings in your social media apps.
1. Set Your Profile to Private
The fastest and easiest way you can make your social media more secure and private is by simply setting your profile to private. When you do this, you make it impossible for anyone will bad intent to learn more about you by simply perusing your profile information, which may contain info like where you live and went to school, and the information you provide the world via posts and photos that you share.
2. Control Who Sees Your Posts
Depending on the social media platform you visit, you can control who sees your posts and limit the number of strangers accessing your content. This is easiest enough to do on apps like Facebook, where you can choose among privacy settings like Public, Friends, Only Me, and Custom to decide who sees your posts. Other sites, like LinkedIn, give you control over who sees your profile, posts, and daily activity. Become more familiar with each of these apps’ privacy settings and customize them so that the least amount of people you don’t know can view your posts.
3. Limit Data-Sharing with Third-Party Apps
Most social media apps give you the option of limiting how much data you share via their third-party apps. This is in no way a flawless system, and the key word here is “limit,” which doesn’t mean none of your data will be shared. Always reviews the permissions requests for apps that you download. If some seem excessive, think twice before downloading them. If you do download the app, be sure to visit its settings and select options that limit or eliminate third-party sharing, including those settings that allow the app to track you across other websites.