6 Facebook privacy settings worth checking today

Start with Facebook’s Menu → Settings & privacy → Settings. On some accounts, the shared settings panel is called Accounts Center or Meta Account. It helps to use the settings search if a label has moved.

1. Review your ad preferences

Open Accounts Center → Ad preferences. Look for settings related to Activity information from ad partners, advertising topics, and advertisers you have seen or interacted with.

1. Open each available ad setting and read what it controls.
2. Where possible, choose the option that uses less activity from advertising partners to personalize ads.
3. Hide topics or advertisers you don't want influencing your experience.
4. Review the setting periodically: Meta can change available options.

What changes? These controls can reduce certain personalized ads. They do not eliminate advertisements or stop every form of data collection.

2. Check information coming from other businesses

Businesses can send Meta information about interactions on their sites, apps, and sometimes offline activity—for example, through Meta's business tools. That does not necessarily mean Facebook is listening to your microphone.

1. Under Ad preferences, locate Activity from other businesses or Activity information from ad partners, depending on the interface available to you.
2. Review Meta's explanation of what information it uses and the control options actually available.
3. Limit use of this information for ad personalization where offered.
4. If your account still shows Your activity off Meta technologies under Your information and permissions, review the older disconnect/history controls there too.

Important: Limiting how information is used for ads is not the same as preventing businesses from sending data to Meta or requiring Meta to delete everything it already has. Some controls also affect integrations that use Facebook Login.

3. Run Privacy Checkup

Search Facebook Settings for Privacy Checkup. Go through every relevant section, especially:

• Who can see what you share: future posts, past posts, profile details, phone number, and email address.
• How people can find you: friend requests, searches and discoverability.
• Your data settings: connected services and other available privacy tools.
• Account security: suspicious logins and account access.

For personal posts, consider Friends rather than Public; check older public posts separately. Reducing visibility can protect information from strangers, but it does not prevent Meta from processing what you post.

4. Remove connected apps and websites you no longer use

Find Apps and websites in Facebook Settings (or search Settings for that phrase). Review services that use Facebook Login or connect to your account.

1. Remove services you no longer recognize or trust.
2. Check any active business or gaming integrations before removing them so you don't lose convenient sign-in.
3. Remember: removing the connection does not necessarily delete information an outside company previously received. Contact the company to request deletion when appropriate.

5. Restrict phone permissions

Permissions are controlled by your phone's operating system, not Facebook's Accounts Center.

• Android: Settings → Apps → Facebook or Messenger → Permissions.
• iPhone: Settings → Privacy & Security → choose a permission category, or Settings → Apps → Facebook or Messenger.

Review location (especially precise location), contacts, camera, microphone, photos, and nearby devices where present. Disable anything you don't need; choose limited photo access or “only while using” when available. Some features like calling, uploading photos or tagging contacts may work differently afterward.

6. Enable two-factor authentication

In Accounts Center, look for Password and security → Two-factor authentication (the labels may vary). Use a strong, unique password and preferably an authenticator app or security key if offered. Save your recovery codes somewhere secure, review logged-in devices, and enable login alerts.

Two-factor authentication helps protect access to your information; it doesn't itself reduce targeted advertising.

Where to verify current controls

Meta changes interface labels and privacy settings over time. Check its primary documentation when a step doesn't match your account:

• About Accounts Center — Facebook Help Center
• Meta's June 2026 update on activity from other businesses
• Meta US Regional Privacy Notice
• Meta privacy and security tools

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