What not to post on social media
How to keep your accounts safe
Picture this: you’re standing in the middle of the shopping centre. You start to yell out your full name, date of birth, pet’s name, what you had for dinner last night, the date of your brother’s girlfriend’s birthday party…
Sounds crazy, right?! You’d never do that, because you don’t want everyone to know (unless you made a Masterchef-worthy dinner).
Except, most of us do this all the time, but just not in the shopping centre. We do it via social media instead.
Social media is lots of fun, and does a 10/10 job at keeping us connected (and entertained). I love posting my morning latte as much as the next person, but it does make it easy to forget that if you’re not careful, social media sites can be a treasure trove of personal info that you don’t want to fall into the wrong hands.
Don’t worry though — you can still safely Tweet up a storm! Here’s how.
Check your privacy settings
Did you scroll quickly through the terms and conditions (T&C’s) when you opened your social media account? Yeah, same. Whoops. Chances are, there’s a bunch of privacy settings you should double-check.
Privacy settings get updated on the reg, so it’s good to make checking your settings a habit. It’ll help you work out who has access to the info you’re sharing, and what is being posted publicly.
Here’s a quick look at how to check your privacy settings on a few popular social media sites:
Login to your account. Go to your icon → ‘Manage your Google account’ → ‘Privacy and personalisation’.
Login to your account. Go to ‘Settings & Privacy’ → ‘Settings’ →‘Privacy settings’.
Login to your account. Go to the side menu → ‘Privacy and safety’.
Login to your account. Go to the ‘Me’ icon → ‘Settings & Privacy’ → ‘Data Privacy’.
Login to your account. Go to ‘Settings’ → ‘Privacy’.
Many social media sites now offer the ability to tweak who can see what you post. For example, Instagram has ‘Close friends’, where you can select who can see your updates. Spend some time carefully selecting what info you make public on each channel.
Consider what you’re posting
Even when your accounts are locked down, there is some info that’s a no-no to share.
Credit cards and payment info
It may seem obvious, but you really shouldn’t post your credit card or bank account details on social media. Why do we even have to mention this? There’s an entire Twitter account dedicated to curating the posted images of people’s cards. As their bio reads, “Please quit posting pictures of your debit cards, people”. This goes for your private messages on social media channels as well — keep your financial details away from your social ones.
Personal details
The lines of public and private are easily blurred on platforms that offer profiles as well as messaging. As a general rule, it’s good to think twice before publicly posting personal info like your phone number, birthday, physical address and email address. Oh, and those fun social media games that ask you to publicly post your dog’s name and your childhood street to come up with your rockstar name? Avoid those, as you’re giving away answers to potential security questions.
Photo ID and official docs
Even if you look fly as heck in your new driver license, it has no place on social media. The same thing goes for passports, bank statements, birth certificates and any other official documents that could be used to identify you. Hold off on posting pics of your flight boarding passes as well, as they often feature personal info.
Think of it like this: if you wouldn’t shout it out loud at the store, don’t post it.
Spring clean your online presence
Whip out the virtual feather duster — it’s cleaning time.
We’re posting stuff basically 24/7, so it’s easy to forget everything we’ve uploaded.
That’s why it’s a good idea to give yourself an online search every now and again to see what surfaces. You might be surprised by what you uncover.
If you come across old social posts of your own which you wouldn’t be happy for a hacker (or your boss) to see, go ahead and press delete. You may even come across posts from other people (say, a Facebook friend) who you might need to contact to take something down.
Turns out there were a few of my cringey uni assignments still lurking on social media sites I forgot I had joined, which leads us nicely to the next point…
Delete inactive accounts
Still got that MSN account from your youth? It might be a hoot for nostalgic mems, but it’s safer to ditch it if it’s no longer in use.
The social media accounts that aren’t front of mind often aren’t privy to cyber safety best practice like regular password changes or software updates.
You can normally find the option to delete your profile in the settings of your account. Some sites may only offer the option to deactivate your account, so take a look at what options are available. You can also get in touch with the site to request they delete your info.
Change your passwords
Are you bored of hearing about passwords yet?
I’m not, cause they’re a goldmine for hackers. Please change the passwords to your social accounts regularly, and make sure they’re secure.
While you’re at it, make sure each social media site uses a different password.
Hot tips
- If you use social media on your phone or laptop, make sure they’re password-protected (multi-factor authentication is even better if it’s available).
- Ensure the software is up to date on the devices you use your social media on, and anti-virus is installed, up to date and paid-up where applicable.
- Be vigilant when accepting friend requests — only accept those who you know.
- Log out of social media accounts where possible — this is essential if you’re using a public computer.
Conclusion
When it comes to staying safe on social media, it pays to just take a moment before you create an account, or post a pic. Brb, just going to look up everyone I know and remind them that their MySpace is still active.
We’re social people, too. You can find us on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter. Come say hi!
Disclaimer: Information provided on this website is general in nature and does not constitute professional advice. These sites are not endorsed or provided by Belong, so please use them at your own risk — we encourage you to take sensible precautions if you do so.
