8 ways to protect your privacy on social media

To have more control over your privacy on social media, you need to learn about and understand the permissions you give social sites. Remember, social media keeps a permanent record of your interactions.

Here are eight tips to help you keep your social media profiles private.

1. Manually adjust privacy settings for each platform. There’s a tradeoff between privacy and social media interaction. If you allow a social media platform to access your account, you can compromise your data, friends list, addresses and other information. Be careful when you grant apps permission to access your account.

2. Use strong passwords and change them regularly. Employ a combination of letters, numbers and symbols for your password. Avoid obvious passwords like family members’ names, birthdays, and social security numbers. Don’t use dictionary words, but do use a separate password for each account.

These recommendations may make it difficult to keep track of your passwords, so use some common sense. If your passwords are too complex to remember, try not to write them down in unsecure locations, like on a Post-it on your computer screen or desk.