Technology
Facebook warning – check what STRANGERS can see on your profile now with genius trick
EVER wanted to know what your Facebook profile looks like to strangers?
The platform has a feature that let’s you see the content that people who aren’t your Facebook friends can access and it may make you want to change some of your privacy settings.
FacebookThe ‘View as’ feature can let you see your Facebook from a stranger’s perspective[/caption]
How to use ‘View as’ feature on Facebook
The Facebook Help Centre has a section called “How can I see what my profile looks like to people on Facebook who I’m not friends with?”.
The page explains: “You can see what your profile looks like to people on Facebook who you’re not friends with.”
All you have to do is go to your Facebook profile page on your computer.
Then click “Edit profile” and then “View as”.
AlamyYou might be sharing more than you thought with strangers[/caption]
You’ll then be shown your Facebook page as if you were a stranger that’s just clicked onto it.
This can reveal any photos or content you’ve got set to ‘public’ .
You may even be surprised at how much strangers can see.
Facebook notes: “Bear in mind that posts and photos that you’ve hidden on your timeline are still visible to the audience they’re shared with in other places on Facebook, such as News Feed and search.”
To leave this view click “Exit View as” in the banner.
If you’re uncomfortable about any of the content you’re sharing publicly you can click on posts directly and change their settings to “Friends only”.
There’s also the option to hide posts so only you can still see them.
Why does it feel like Facebook is snooping on you?
Here’s what you need to know…
The magic of targeted advertising is that it should feel relevant to you – even if you can’t figure out why.
Facebook doesn’t need to spy on your real-life conversations, because you hand over so much information anyway.
Follow this link and you’ll be able to download everything Facebook knows about you. Most of you will quickly realise it’s a staggering amount of information.
Advertisers can use information gleaned from your activity all across the web, on multiple devices, even if you’re not logged into Facebook or other services.
They’ll likely know where you live, what you like, who your friends are, how much money you make, your political beliefs and much more.
So when you get ads for something you’ve talked about out loud, it’s almost certainly just advertisers being very good at predicting your interests.
It’s also possible that there’s an advertising campaign running, and you’ve seen an ad and not noticed. You’ve then spoken about it, never realising you’ve been advertised to, and only then notice future ads – which suddenly seem suspicious.
Let’s say you talked about a holiday to Scotland, and then all of a sudden you’re being advertised holidays to Scotland.
You may never have searched for anything to do with that before.
But Facebook could use info about your level of wealth, your past holiday interests, the time of year (ads for wintry Scottish retreats are common in the colder months), and your location.
What seems like snooping is actually just clever advertising.
Most read in Phones & Gadgets
In other news, nine apps have had to be removed from the Google Play Store after they were caught stealing Facebook passwords.
Facebook is facing backlash in the US over plans to create a version of Instagram for children under 13.
And, influencers who don’t clearly state if they’ve edited photos which are advertisements could be fined or imprisoned in Norway due to a new law.
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