Facebook, the world’s largest social media platform, is once again in the spotlight for all the wrong reasons. Yes, it’s about privacy and security once more. Facebook’s recent data breach exposed the personal information of over 530 million users online. If you’ve been neglecting your Facebook account, now is the moment to add an extra layer of protection. Learn tips and tricks to secure your Facebook account by reading this article.
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Tips and Tricks to Secure Facebook Account
In this piece, we’ll go through how to safeguard your Facebook account by enabling 2FA (two-factor authentication), removing remembered accounts, disabling advertising tracking, and more.
1. Turn on 2FA for Facebook
This is a simple and effective way to add another layer of security to your Facebook account. To log in to a Facebook account, 2FA will ask for an OTP or 2FA code, as the name implies. To make the necessary adjustments, follow the instructions below.
1. Go to your device’s Facebook app and open it.
2. At the bottom of the screen, tap the More menu.
3. Select Settings & Privacy from the drop-down menu.
4. From the drop-down menu, choose Settings.
5. From the Security menu, choose Security and Login.
6. Select Use two-factor authentication from the drop-down menu.
7. Use the suggested Authentication app in the Select a security approach section. At the bottom, press the Continue button.
8. Save the code to your smartphone and install 2FA with Google Authenticator or the Authy app.
When you try to log into your Facebook account for the first time, the site will prompt you to use the 2FA option to verify your identity.
Note: For the 2FA service, we recommend that you avoid utilizing the text message approach. We’ve seen high-profile incidents of SIM card cloning being used to get unauthorized access to social media accounts.
Have a look at How to Schedule Posts on Facebook Groups and Pages?
2. Disable Facebook Tracking Among Mobile Apps
Have you ever been puzzled why, after browsing the TripAdvisor app on your iPhone or Android, you started seeing TripAdvisor adverts on Facebook? After looking at certain tourist packages on Booking.com, did you start getting vacation destination suggestions on Facebook?
No, Facebook isn’t listening in on your chat using your device’s microphone. Facebook is employing the off-Facebook activity option, which allows third-party apps and websites to exchange activity data with the social media giant. Here’s how to turn it off if you’re not comfortable with it.
Let me try to make things easier for you. Third-party websites and services share your browser history and activity with Facebook in order for the latter to show you more relevant adverts. To turn off the behavior, follow the instructions below.
1. Launch the Facebook app on your iPhone or Android device.
2. Select More from the menu in the bottom right corner.
3. Select Settings & Privacy > Settings from the drop-down menu.
4. Select Off-Facebook activities from the option under Your Facebook information.
5. Select Clear History from the following menu and hit the Clear History button from the pop-up menu. All of your previous activity will be removed from your account.
6. Select the Manage Your Off-Facebook Activity option by pressing the Back button.
7. You’ll notice a list of applications and websites that share activity data with Facebook in this section. You’ll also observe when Facebook obtained your activity data from its partners the previous time. In the top right corner, tap the three-dot menu.
8. From the bottom pop-up menu, choose Manage Future Activity.
9. Facebook will clarify how they utilize information about your non-Facebook activities. Select the Manage Future Activity option from the drop-down menu.
10. From the following menu, disable the Future off-Facebook activity option.
3. Remove Remembered Accounts
When you log out of an app, it usually forgets your login information and prompts you to provide your username and password to access the service again. With Facebook, however, this is not the case.
Facebook-owned apps like Facebook, Messenger, and Instagram will remember your account information and allow you to log in with a single tap. Although the technique is for the benefit of users, it leaves you susceptible when using Facebook on a friend’s device. To delete a Facebook account that has been remembered, follow the instructions below.
1. Go to your device’s Facebook page.
2. Use the Logout option in the Settings menu to exit the app.
3. Your account will be visible on the Facebook homepage.
4. At the bottom, tap the little Settings icon.
5. From the drop-down menu, choose a profile. The app will forget the account on the device if you tap the Remove stored login credentials button.
Other Tips and Tricks
- To safeguard your Facebook account, always use a good third-party password manager like 1Password or Dashlane and create a strong/complex password.
- If you have an Android smartphone and want to add fingerprint authentication to Facebook, use the app lock service. On Xiaomi, Realme, and OnePlus devices, such add-ons are available, but there are also third-party apps accessible on the Play Store.
Final Verdict: Secure Your Facebook Account
Right now, go through the steps above to protect your Facebook account from prying eyes. While you’re at it, go to haveibeenpwned.com to see if your phone number or email address was compromised in the current attack.
