Recommended Facebook Privacy Settings for Teens

Facebook's default privacy settings are not for everyone – especially minors – which is why the service allows users to customize their settings. The following chart shows ConnectSafely's recommendations for most teens. We realize that not all teens have the same level of maturity and that not all parents have the same rules for their kids' online socializing, so please review this chart with your teens to help set the right privacy settings for them. For more on Facebook safety and privacy for teens, please see our booklet A Parents' Guide to Facebook.

Please note: If you're not already logged into Facebook and you click on a link to Facebook below the Table of Contents, you'll be asked to provide user name and password the first time only. We understand if you're uncomfortable with entering your password after clicking from another Web page (it's a technique used in phishing attacks, but obviously not by us), so if you are uncomfortable, just go to Facebook.com and log in from the home page, then return to this page.

Contents:

Edit Profile Settings	Contact Information in Profile
Basic Privacy Settings	Customized Privacy Settings
Things Others Share	Contact Information
Application Privacy Settings	Block Users and Invites

Edit Profile Settings - Basic Information

Setting	Recommendation for teens
Current city	Generally OK
Hometown	Generally OK
Interested In	Leave blank or think about whether the interests you type in reflect positively on you
Looking For	Leave blank
Political Views	Think about how filling this in might affect people’s perception of you and whether it could subject you to bullying
Religious Views	Generally OK, but - as above - filling this in might affect people's perception of you
Bio	Generally OK, but don't go overboard - think about how your info might look to others
Favorite Quotation	Probably OK, but check back in every now and then to see if it still represents you
Profile Picture	An appropriate photo of yourself or an object or cartoon character that represents you; or just leave blank
Relationship Status	Leave blank
Education and Work	Generally OK to list your school. Consider not listing employer
Likes and Interests (activities, music, books, movies, etc.)	Generally OK but think about what you list, how it will be perceived & whether it will subject you to bullying

Contact Information in Profile

Setting	Recommendation for Teens
Emails	Generally OK, but make available to Friends Only in Customized Privacy Settings
IM Screen Name(s)	Generally OK, but make available to Friends Only in Customized Privacy Settings
Mobile Phone	Leave blank
Other phone	Leave blank
Address/City/Town/Zip and Neighborhood	Leave blank
Website	Generally OK

Basic Privacy Settings

Setting	Recommendation for Teens
Basic Privacy Settings	Friends Only & click "Apply These Settings"

Customized Privacy Settings
(Click "Customize settings" at bottom of page.)

Setting	Recommendation
Posts by me	Friends Only
Family	Friends Only
Relationships	Only Me
Interested and looking for	Only Me
Bio and favorite quotations	Friends Only
Website	Friends Only
Religious and political views	Only Me or perhaps Friends Only
Places I check into	Only Me
Include me in “People Here Now” after I check in	Disable

Things Others Share
(Click "Customize settings" at bottom of page and scroll to
section in left-hand column below.)

Photos and videos I’m tagged in	Friends Only
Can comment on posts	Friends Only
Friends can post on my Wall	Friends Only
Friends can check me in to Places	Disable

Contact Information

Setting	Recommendation for Teens
Mobile phone	Customize & limit to people they know & trust or “Only Me”
Other phone	Customize & limit to people they know & trust or “Only Me”
Address	Customize & limit to “Only Me”
IM screen name	Friends Only
Email address	Friends Only

Application Privacy Settings

Setting	Recommendation for Teens
Applications you use	Review apps with your kids and remove any that are inappropriate
Info accessible through your friends	Review list. Disable most. Definitely disable "Places I check into"
Game and application activity	Friends Only & customize to even fewer people
Instant personalization	Uncheck “Enable instant personalization on partner website”
Public search	Disable if enabled (for minors, the default is now “Enable when I’m 18”

Block Users and Application & Event Invites from specific user
(Click "Block Lists" at bottom of Privacy Settings page.)

Setting	Recommendation for Teens	Instructions
Edit your (block) list	Block any individuals who are annoying you or who you wish to avoid	Block users you wish to avoid. You can also block application and event invites from specific people and block or unblock specific applications from contacting you or using your contact information