November 4, 2022

As digital connectivity is growing rapidly, social media has surfaced as a standard for staying in touch with family and friends. Each social platform hosts a different social environment. Where Facebook is a place for connecting with people, LinkedIn serves as a professional social space. But whatever the network, one must prioritize their privacy by following standard social media safety tips. You need to be careful about the degree of involvement you are permitting in your life. Although on a surface level, online interactions at first seem harmless, your given information can easily be exploited and used against you. To stay safe from any online risks, it’s in your best interest to implement the right security measures when posting anything online. For starters, never compromise on your boundaries – whether it’s about whom to add or interact with, or what to post. Social media privacy has been designed for its users so that they can avoid any misuse of the information they provide. Several security threats have been of highlight for a decade, like identity theft, hacking, stalking, cyberbullying, and whatnot. This is why when learning or teaching social media, one must educate themselves about the importance of social media safety. So, to ensure safe and secure social media experiences, you should follow some basic social media safety tips. Think Before you post Before you make a public post on your socials, take a minute to think if you are comfortable sharing it. In case the post includes your location, it is advisable to limit the privacy settings to your friends/specific friends or close friends instead. The same goes for the content that contains any personal information about you that you are not comfortable sharing. Because any content that hints about your whereabouts can pose a serious safety risk. Even if you later delete the post, one can access the information through screenshots and use it maliciously. > > > — Seeking Validation from Social media Avoid Sharing Personal Details Amongst numerous social media safety tips, the most important one is not providing an unchecked list of personal details to your followers. Try to maintain a balance in how much you share on your socials for the sake of personal privacy and safety. Sharing memes or educational content is fine. Also, it is your personal choice how much your share and with whom. But try to not reveal too much about yourself Also make social media strategy before posting anything on it. Sharing personal information like a phone number or home address can put you at a serious security risk. Moreover, be extremely cautious regarding your financial information of any sort. Never reveal your banking, social security, or credit card information on any social networking platform. Otherwise, you can easily become a victim of various cybercrimes. Another thing validation from social media is posting pictures or curated posts, especially in case of having a big following where most of them are strangers to you. Any strong political or derogatory opinion of some famous public figure can steer you into trouble. One scary aspect of the internet is that not all content is always truly gone. What you ‘delete’ might end up somewhere else on any other social platform. Even after posting from an anonymous account, the information can be traced back to you. Don’t Share your Location A common blunder most of us do while using social apps, especially Snapchat or Instagram, is to add our location. If you do not control who can see your location, you might end up becoming a potentially easy target for scammers or predators. Prioritize your Comfort zone Nothing is embarrassing about saying no to a friend asking you to post something you do not want to. Your comfort zone must always be your priority. Similarly, it is equally important to respect other people’s privacy and comfort. If you plan to mention or tag someone in a post, or post any picture with them in your story, ask them first. Do not breach anyone’s comfort zone by forcing them to post or share something they don’t want to. Verify the Accounts No doubt social networking is a great way to build both professional and personal connections. But there is a problem – social media is filled with fake accounts. Verify the account’s validity before interacting with them. Anyone can pose as anyone else, claiming to either be your friend or a colleague. So if you get even the slightest uncertainty about an account’s authenticity, either report it right away or ask questions that can help you identify them. The purpose behind making such fake accounts is to either spread false information about you or create any problems of personal nature. Another intent could be to make you follow malicious websites so that they can commit financial fraud. A good way to steer clear of such accounts is to block them if you do not wish to stay in contact. Be cautious of Clickjacking Yes, we all wish to know which Harry Potter character we are. But don’t just click on any link someone sends you or that ends up on your newsfeed. There is a fair chance of security threats to your device from such links through clickjacking. So, what is clickjacking? Here’s how it goes. Scammers will send you some enticing email or a tweet with a hyperlinked URL. Once you follow the link, you will be prompted to log in, meanwhile dumping a virus on you. This practice is called clickjacking on social media. Often hacked Twitter accounts send such clickjacking URLs to the hacked account’s followers. The best counter here is to keep a strong password and change it instantly once you realize you are being clickjacked. Avoid Public Internet Connections Always prioritize using a private internet connection instead of a public or open Wi-Fi network of nearby coffee shops. Limit internet usage to private or personal internet connections. In public places, you can use cellular data in case of