Battening down the hatches of Facebook privacy settings

[This posting has been updated as Facebook privacy settings have changed.]

Every Facebook user has a "list" called "Limited Profile". This is your key to connecting with people, but keeping the vast majority of your information private.

The Limited Profile allows you to

• Connect with students without revealing lots of private information.
• Connect with colleagues that you know professionally or socially without revealing lots of private information

Pivacy is a very important issue to consider when engaging in social networking activities online. While it is a lot fun to have an unlimited profile on Facebook, it is safer to have conscious control of what enters your News Feed and Wall, who sees your Facebook profile, and what they see on it.

Here are some benefits of using a Limited Profile on Facebook.

1. You will be able to exercise full control over who and what enters your News Feed and thus prevent irrelevant and uninteresting posts from pages, external websites, applications, and even those on your friends’ list.
2. You will be able to control what your friends and visitors see on your profile. Limiting your profile on Facebook using Privacy Settings and making lists even allows you to dictate what each of your friends can see.
3. You will be able to hide from friends and friends of friends, posts and comments that are not relevant to them, especially those that are personal conversations between you and some select few. This is an excellent way of preventing personal information from entering into wrong hands -- but still be connected to lots of people..
4. Limiting your profile on Facebook helps you put restrictions on personal uploads like photos, videos, audios, and more. These uploads may carry information that you want to keep personal and private, probably for only some few to see.
5. Limiting your profile on Facebook is a very good way put defenses in placeagainst hackers and identity thieves. Hackers and identity thieves are all over the Internet looking for loopholes to gain access into people’s personal information. Limiting your profile on Facebook gives you a  to distance yourself from hacker if they sense the “invulnerability” of your page.

Limiting your profile on Facebook involves very simple steps. Here’s how to go about it.

1. Login to your Facebook account. Logging in successfully leads you to your Facebook home page which displays your News Feed containing recent activities from friends.
2. On top of the screen, on the dashboard, at the right side, click on “Account” and click on "Privacy Settings” from the drop down list that appears.
3. The “Privacy Settings” page appears. Click on “Customize Settings”.
4. Different sections of your profile will be displayed. You simply click on the part you want to edit and select “Customize” from the drop down box that appears. There, you will be able to select a particular friend and adjust what that friend sees on your profile.
5. On "Post By Me (Default setting for posts, including status updates and photos)", I select "Friends Only" and "Hide This" from "Limited Profile". This means that everyone who is NOT on my "Limited Profile" will receive my posts and status updates.

Here's what I'd suggest for the tightest privacy settings

• Posts by me: Friends *except* Limited Profile
• Family: Only me
• Relationships; Only me
• Interested and looking for: Only me
• Bio and favorite quotations: Friends only
• Website: Everyone (assuming this is your work or professional website that you've listed)
• Religious and political views: Only me
• Birthday: Friends only except Limited Profile -- and, actually, the birthdate I've entered is not my real birthday!
• Places I check into: Only me
• Include me in "People Here Now" after I check in:  NEVER enable
• Photos and videos I'm tagged in:  Friends only, except Limited Profile
• Can comment on posts: Friends only (locked)
• Friends can post on my wall: NOT enabled
• Can see wall posts: No One
• Friends can check me in to places: Disabled (Are you kidding?!?!)
• Mobile phone: Friends only, except Limited Profile
• Other Phone: Friends only (it's my Google voice number!)
• Address: Only me
• IM Screen Name: Friends only (and I don't list all my screen names!)
• I limit email addresses according to who I think should see them. There are at least one or two I let everyone see.)

So, just to make it clear to all the people connected with me. If you're not receiving lot of status updates from me, it's because you're on my "Limited Profile". BUT this has some advantages for you! It means that my NAFSA-related status updates only get sent to NAFSAns connected to me. I am