If you are using Facebook, there is certain information which should never be used whatsoever.
The primary reason behind using Facebook is to share your life and views with friends and family but don’t ever share these five personal bits of information on the social network – ever because when it comes to Facebook, some details are better kept to yourself such as the following five points:
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1. Your phone number
Adding your landline or cell number on your Facebook page is a BAD idea because it makes you an easy target for stalkers, prank callers, scammers, identity thieves and cyber criminals. Moreover, anyone can search and find your Facebook page through your number. However, if you want to give your phone number on this platform then don’t forget to hide it in your profile. Follow these guidelines:
On your Facebook page click on your name that can be seen on the top of the page. Once it is loaded, click on “Update Info” option located in the lower-right corner and then go to “Contact and Basic Info” available in the left column. Click on “Edit” button that can be seen next to your phone number. Here you will find the “Audience Selector” icon, which bears the image of a silhouette of two persons, a lock or a globe. If you see the Lock sign, it means you don’t need to change anything. However, if you see a silhouette or a globe, then change the setting to “Only Me”. This will keep your phone number invisible to other users and it won’t show up in searches either.
2. Your home address
Posting an image of your recent holiday, excursion or a new purchase will make you vulnerable to serious real life threats. For instance, some criminally minded person may get your home address. That’s why you need to remove it from your profile page on Facebook by following the directions in the last section. Click on “Contact and Basic Info” section and look for “Neighborhood,” if you see an address there simply click on “Edit” button and remove the information. Don’t forget to click on “Save Changes.”
Post a picture of your recent vacation or major new purchase and this puts you at risk. Think for a moment of all the terrible things that might happen if some nefarious person knew your home address. Remove it from your Facebook profile. The Place option is also available under Events tab because for creating events it is important to add your address. If the event gets set as Public, then everyone will be able to see your address. Therefore, always delete the event as soon as it happens and always check back via events history and delete old events.
3. Anything work-related
Never leave any information that may reveal your place of work. If a fellow colleague tries to search for employees on Facebook, it is possible that he or she finds a post or photo that should not be there. Or, a hacker can easily figure out whom to target if he wants to hack into your workplace’s computer.
To keep a check on it, you can use Facebook’s timeline tools, which will scan all your previous posts and delete any information related to your workplace, current and previous jobs and especially any sort of complaint that you may have shared.
4. Your relationship status
Posting about your relationship status on Facebook page is just plain risky and like an invitation to awkwardness. The number of users and “likes” that you get from users after changing your relationship status from “married” to “it’s complicated,” will definitely creep you out.
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Also, there are some types of relationship statuses that also attract cyberstalkers because there are scammers out there who are experts in sweetheart scams. They create a romantic relationship with you through social media, emails or dating websites and then swindle you out of cash. Sharing your “Singlehood” status on Facebook will draw the attention of such fraudsters towards you. So beware and delete your relationship status completely.
5. Your payment information
Although is free, sometimes it requires your credit card number and other financial details in the event you need to buy products like gift cards straight through this site. However, it is not a good idea to let your Facebook profile page open on your desktop at home because a “joking” friend or any family member would use it to buy something through Facebook right away. More importantly, keeping your credit card details on Facebook is risky because if a hacker breaks into your profile, it will be easily accessed and your money will be used to carry out frauds and dangerous crimes.
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