If there is one thing we get asked about on a daily basis in training sessions, by people calling the office, on Twitter or by email it is…Do people know when I view their Facebook profile? The amount of stalking that happens on Facebook is massive (stalking in the non threatening looking at 100s of photos sort of way) and people are always super worried that others can see what they have been looking at. The answer that we always give and that has never changed once despite all the spammy tools out there is that nobody can see who has viewed your Facebook profile. There have also been concerns about the data that you are sharing with your friends but Facebook have just released a new tool that helps you understand what you share on the site with more clarity. A feature they have “borrowed” from Google + allows you to see exactly what your friends will see on your profile when they view it…
Go To Your Own Profile
Once you log in to Facebook head over to your own profile and in the top right hand corner you will see a little button that says “view as”. Click on that.
Select The Person
You are then prompted to select any of your friends from a drop down menu. This is the person that you will be viewing your own profile as so in effect seeing what they would see when they view your profile. You can only select friends because anybody who is not a friend or a subscriber will only be allowed to see your profile picture and basic information.
Block Your Parents And Your Boss
Now comes the fun part because even though Facebook has a lousy reputation for privacy you have actually got a huge range of privacy controls at your finger tips. Head over here and you will be able to learn how to make sure your boss no longer sees photos of you puking at a party and how to hide from your parents on Facebook. Once you’ve done that head back to your profile and use the tool above to view your profile as they would and you’ll see that everything is now hidden.