Run a Privacy Checkup on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and X

Most people set up their social media accounts 5 to 15 years ago and haven't looked at the privacy settings since. In that time, each platform has added dozens of new settings and defaulted many of them to "public" or "everyone." Running a privacy checkup across your main accounts once a year catches all the small leaks and gives you clearer sense of what strangers can see about you.

Facebook has by far the most settings, and also the best guided tool for reviewing them. Open the menu and search for "Privacy Checkup." It walks you through a 5-step wizard covering who can see your posts, how people find you, your data settings, ad preferences, and how to secure your account. The wizard surfaces things most people never notice, like old tagged photos you forgot about.

Instagram is simpler — most of the important choice is whether your account is Public (anyone can see your posts) or Private (only followers you approve). For many users, switching to Private is the single biggest privacy improvement. Beyond that, check Story controls to limit who can see and share Stories, and check the tagging and mention controls.

LinkedIn is trickier because it's professional. You probably want a fair amount public. But check Profile Visibility (decide if your profile appears in search engine results), Connections Visibility (many people prefer hiding their connections list), and Activity Broadcasts (turn off when you're job hunting).

X (Twitter) lets you make all your posts Protected, meaning only approved followers see them. Review whether your direct messages are open to everyone. And on every platform, audit third-party apps you connected in the past — old Zynga games, quizzes, and long-dead apps often still have permission to read your data.