Top Facebook Privacy Tweaks: How to Unfriend, Delete & Untag
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CREDIT: Facebook privacy image via Shutterstock |
Many Facebook users have finally mastered their privacy settings. Some lock their profiles down tight, while others open them to the public, but most have learned to share just with their friends. And if they see something they don't like, people aren't shy about removing it.
A new study released by the Pew Research Center shows that Facebook users are more adept at managing the social network's privacy settings, compared with a similar Pew survey two years ago. Here are the most common ways people use the site's privacy tools, plus tips on how to do each one if you need to catch up:
1. It's OK to unfriend someone.
Maybe comedian Jimmy Kimmel's Nov. 17 "National Delete a Friend on Facebook Day" has had an impact. Sixty-seven percent of respondents said that they had deleted people from their lists in 2011, up from 56 percent in 2009.
Tip: Go to the page of the person who you want to unfriend. Scroll down until you see "Report/Block" at the bottom of their friends list on the left-hand side of their wall page. Click, and you'll have the option to defriend.
2. Don't like a post? Delete it.
Forty-four percent said they have deleted comments that others have made on their page, up from just 36 percent two years earlier.
Tip: Hover over the right-hand top corner of an unwanted post on your wall until a drop-down tab appears. Click to "Hide story." This will delete the person's post from your Timeline as well. Comments made on an update you posted are just as easy to remove. Hover over the corner of the comment box to reveal an "x" to delete.
3. Untag yourself from photos.
While only 37 percent of people said they had removed their "tags" from photos, that's a 7 percent increase over 2009. With the new Timeline profile, users can click on "photos" to see all pictures that have been tagged with their name.
Tip: Select a photo from "Photos of You" found in your Timeline. Look for the gear icon to open a drop-down box, click the link "Report/remove a tag," and select "I want to remove this tag."
