How To Make Posts Private On Instagram And Twitter
David Nield
Instagram and Twitter have similar privacy settings for postsand you dont get the same sort of granular control you do on Facebook. On both services, your account, and everything you post from it, is in one of two states: public or private. There are, however, some privacy-focused tools built into each platform that offer you a little bit of audience management power .
But in general, for your profile and posts, public is exactly what it sounds like: anyone can open up your Instagram or Twitter page and view all of your posts. Heres . Heres . Other people dont have to be your friends or connected to you on these sites to see your public posts. In fact, they dont even have to be on Instagram or Twitter at allthey just need a web browser.
Blocking Phone Numbers Messages And Facetime
Sometimes, taking control of your iPhone privacy means blocking someone you no longer want to talk to. You can prevent a contact from sending you phone calls, FaceTime calls, or Messages by blocking the caller. If the caller has associated their number with FaceTime, FaceTime calls will be blocked, but you may also need to block any email addresses not associated with their number.
To block a number you havent saved, launch the Phone app and tap the Recents tab. Find the number you want to block and tap the information button next to it. On the next screen, select Block this Caller. You can do the same under the FaceTime app, or by finding a contact that you have saved under Contacts and tapping Block this Caller at the bottom of the entry.
At any time, you can check who you have blocked under Settings > Phone > Call Blocking & Identification. You can also access the Blocked menu under Settings > FaceTime and Settings > Messages.
While spam call and SMS monitoring apps do exist, there may be a privacy tradeoff. By using services like Hiya, youre allowing some of your data to be seen by a third party. However, as the iPhone Settings app puts it, call blocking and identification apps are not able to access any information about your incoming calls. If youre tired of being spammed but dont want to install another app, the best advice is to stop answering your phone .
Customize Your Content And Privacy Restrictions
With iOS 12, you have more control over your content and privacy restrictions. Based on your need, you can allow/disallow installing, deleting and even in-app purchase.
You get various other options like preventing Siri from using explicit language and disallow password changes. In short, if you want to have immaculate control over all of your content, this is the way to go!
Settings Screen Time Content & Privacy Restrictions
You May Like: How To Screenshot On An iPhone 5s
What Is Browser Fingerprinting
Browser fingerprinting is a process that uses publicly shared information about your device to identify and track what that device does online.
This is information such as platform, screen resolution, browser even fonts or accelerometer info.
Combined, this lets unaccountable analytics firms develop an extremely accurate picture about site visitors and what they do.
So, how much information are you giving away right now? These two sites will show you: AmIUnique.org and Panopticlick.eff.org I think youll be surprised.
Apple is taking action to prevent this kind of activity.
Use Private Browsing Mode In Safari
If you’re worried about your browsing history coming back to bite you in the ass, Safari now gives the option to browse in Private mode.
To do so, just open up Safari, tap on the tabs icon, and select Private. Then you can choose to keep all of your current tabs open, or close them all and start fresh.
Private browsing also makes it so that Safari doesn’t remember AutoFill information and won’t store your tabs in iCloud. It will also ask websites and third-party advertisers not to track you, and enables cooking blocking.
Read Also: How Do You Play Eight Ball On Imessage
Lock Down Your Lock Screen
Under Settings > Notifications, you can also change how each notification is displayed on your lock screen. Select an app for which you have enabled notifications and look for the Show Previews option. The best option here is to select When Unlocked so that previews are only displayed when your device is unlocked by Face ID or Touch ID.
If youd rather certain notifications never reach the lock screen, uncheck Lock Screen under the Alerts section.
You can also disable Siri access on the lock screen under Settings > Siri. By default, Siri wont give away too much from the lock screen before requesting that you unlock your device. For absolute peace of mind, you can disable lock screen Siri access via the Allow Siri When Locked toggle.
What About Website Data
Another Safari feature worth taking control of is its collection of website-related data.
Open Settings> Safari> Advanced> Website Data and you will find a list of all the sites that are gathering such data.
This information includes history, cookies, and other browsing data. You can delete this information one item at a time, or tap “Clear” at the bottom of the window. Alternatively, you can tap Clear History and Website Data on the Settings> Safari screen.
NB: This will delete information across all your signed in devices.
Also Check: Bitmoji Keyboard iPhone
Prevent Thieves From Erasing Or Activating Your iPhone
It’s even more important to enable Find My iPhone in the new iOS 7, because Apple has included a password-entry requirement before anyone can erase or activate your iPhone. Plus, if you do a remote wipe, thieves won’t be able to reactivate it without your password.
You also won’t be able to disable Find My iPhone without logging in .
How To Manage Third
Third-party keyboards dont present a privacy risk unless you grant Full Access to the keyboard developer. Full access allows anything you type using a third-party keyboard to be sent to the app developer. Its required for some keyboards to function to their full capacity, but it can give away personal information, passwords, or even credit card details.
If you have any third-party keyboards installed, they will be listed under Settings > General > Keyboards. Tap on Keyboards at the top of the menu to see a list of all that are installed. Tap one, and youll see the option for Allow Full Access, which you can enable or disable. Keep in mind that some keyboards wont work without this setting enabled.
You May Like: How To Clear Siri Suggestions On iPhone
How To Make Your Social Media Posts Truly Private
Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram privacy settings, explained
ByDavid Nield | Published Feb 28, 2022 9:25 PM
This story has been updated. It was originally posted on February 16, 2017.
Most of us are aware that we need to be careful with what we post on social media, but do you know exactly who can see your recent vacation photos and status updates? Here are the privacy controls you need to know about on four of the biggest social networks.
How To Make Your Facebook Posts Private
David Nield
Whenever you post something on Facebookwhether on the web or in a mobile apptheres an audience selector drop-down menu nearby . This gives you precise control over who can see your next post, photo, or check-in.
Tap or click the drop-down to see more options. You can make your posts public , restrict their visibility to certain friends, or even post updates that only you can see. You can also create your own lists of friends: Go to Facebook in a web browser, click Friends in the sidebar to the left of the News Feed, then Custom Lists, and select Create List.
If youre prepared to put in the time to create your own listsand many of us arentyou can create all sorts of combinations. You might want some updates to be seen just by people at work, or only your sports club, or everyone on your friends list except your ex .
You might be justified in complaining about some of , but theres no doubt the site actually does a comprehensive job when it comes to letting you choose who can see your posts. Its just a question of taking the time to set up the friends lists you need and applying them. You should note that once youve made a choice , that setting stays in place for all your future posts, until you change it again.
Recommended Reading: How To Play The Pool Game On Ios 10
S To Make iPhone Text Messages Private
Step 1 – Always use a passcode or Touch ID on your iPhone or iPad.
This sounds obvious, however you’d be surprised just how many iOS users don’t even bother enacting this feature. Many people feel it’s a hassle to enter a six digit code and / or use the fingerprint Touch ID feature to unlock their iPhone every time they want to use their device throughout the day. Should your device ever end up in the wrong hands, having a passcode or Touch ID enabled helps ensure that your personal data will not be immediately accessible.
How to setup an iPhone passcode
-
Navigate to the settings app on your iPhone and choose Touch ID and Passcode. If your phone doesn’t have the Touch ID capability, you’ll only see the Passcode option. If you are an iPhone X user, it will say “Face ID” and Passcode.
-
Select “Turn Passcode On” to enable the passcode option.
-
You will then be prompted to enter a passcode containing six numbers or letters.
-
Confirm your unique code by entering it a second time when prompted.
-
You also have the option to choose how frequently the passcode is is required on your device. To be sure that the phone is always locked, we recommend that you choose the “Immediately” option.
Passcode is now set up on your iPhone or iPad and anyone trying to use your device will need to know your private code in order to access or use your mobile phone.
Setting up Touch ID on an iPhone or iPad
Step 2 – Hide Text Message Notifications on your iPhone or iPad
Apple And Data Privacy
Let’s first quickly address Apple’s privacy policy when it comes to your mobile data. If you are running iOS 11.3 on your iPhone or iPad and you open a native Apple app that wants to use your personal information for any reason, you’ll be prompted with Apple’s new privacy screen alert:We really like this feature and it’s Apple’s way of reminding you that the app you are using will be harnessing some of your personal info in order for it to function as intended. Apple’s Privacy and Data page says that “Apple believes privacy is a fundamental human right.” While we can’t speak for Apple, we can say that there are a lot of tech companies that clearly don’t offer up the same sentiment. We really like that Apple is so forthcoming and transparent with their mission statement about how they handle your private iPhone data.
Don’t Miss: Where Do I Find Favorites On My iPhone
How To Change Which System Services Use Your Location
Head to Settings > Privacy, scroll down to the bottom of the list, and tap System Services. You will see a list of services currently using your location. You can toggle any of these off, but most users should leave them enabled.
The Significant Locations menu will likely be of particular interest. This is a list of locations that your iPhone stores to provide useful location-related information in Maps, Calendar, Photos, and more. This information is encrypted and unavailable to Apple, but it is used by your device to make suggestions relating to traffic, travel time, and more.
Below that is the Product Improvement section, which uses your location to help improve Apples services. This information is not encrypted and must be made available to Apple to be useful to them. Feel free to disable any services you arent comfortable with.
Limit What Apps Have Access To Your Location
If you don’t want any apps to know where you are, the best thing to do is turn off Location Services entirely. This will not stop Find My iPhone from helping you locate your device if it’s lost or stolen.
Realistically, some of these services are important or useful, so I wouldn’t recommend disabling it altogether. Maps, for example, would be useless. Instead, keep it on and disable it for only the apps you want, like those that don’t need your location to run properly.
Recommended Reading: Update Carrier Settings iPhone 5
Other Ways To Make Text Messages Private
In addition to enabling a passcode and also turning off text message notifications, there are other options that some iPhone users like to enlist to help ensure privacy of the text message data on their iPhone.
Third party self-destructive messaging apps
These “self-destructive” or “ephemeral” messaging apps have become increasingly popular in both business and government over the last few years. Usually users decide before sending a text message if they want to use the default Apple Messages app or if they want to engage a third party app for the communication. Much of this depends on who the intended recipient is and also how sensitive the data might be. Two examples of these popular apps are Confide and Signal.
-
Confide – Confide sends text messages that are both encrypted as well as “self-destructing.” All data sent and received with the Confide app is automatically deleted. Also, the app prevents users from taking screenshots of messages. Many iPhone users find helpful to ensure privacy.
-
Signal – Signal is another popular messaging app that also doesn’t save or leave behind any trace of message content. It deletes telephone numbers, contact info, and the times of when messages are received or sent is also not stored. Furthermore, none of the data transmitted by the Signal message app is every stored in an iPhone backup.
Save text messages to computer to make a private copy of your SMS history
A Reliable And Safe Way To Get Devices To Regain Their Speed Is By Freeing Up The Cache
Newsroom Infobae
When large amounts of cache memory are stored, devices may start to run slower, so it is important that the user deletes it from time to time.
The cache, according to technology company Amazon, is a high-speed data storage layer that stores a subset of data, for example, applications such as Whatsapp, Instagram, Facebook and browsers such as Safari or Google save translated information in cache in order to reduce bandwidth usage.
Apple notes that content caching speeds up the download of software and data that users store in iCloud by saving content than local Mac computers, iOS devices, iPadOS devices, and Apple TV. However, when that saved information is a lot, it starts to affect the operation of the device.
In this sense, it is recommended that the cache be deleted from time to time. You can also block cookies, which are a piece of data that a site places on your device to remember it each time you visit the site again. To clear Safari history and cookies on your iPhone, iPad or iPod touch, follow these steps.
– Go to Settings > Safari and tap Clear History and Data. If Safari history, cookies, and browsing data are cleared, the autofill information will not be changed.
– To clear cookies and keep history, go to Settings > Safari > Advanced > Website Data, and then tap Delete All Data.
If you want to delete the cache of a third-party application, you can follow these steps:
– Download a content blocking app from the App Store.
KEEP READING:
Read Also: How To Remove A Mail Account From iPhone
Block Websites From Storing Cookies On Your Device
If you don’t need websites to remember your login status, make sure to switch Block Cookies to Always to prevent websites from storing information on your device, including your name, email, and preferences.
Just be warned that Always disabling cookies will also prevent websites you trust from remembering your preferences or logged-in status.
What Can You See When You Are Locked
Privacy isnt just about what people can see when you are online its also about protecting your device when its alone, visible to others, or unprotected.
One of the big bugbears here is the habit of allowing people to access Siri from the Home screen or allowing message previews to appear on the lock screen.
You can control this behavior in Settings> Face ID & Passcode, in the Allow Access When Locked section. If your iPhone does not have Face ID, the section is labeled Touch ID & Passcode.
Here youll find controls for the following:
- Today View
- Home Control
- Return Missed Call
- USB Accessories:
For maximum protection you should disable all of these, but that is a trade-off between convenience and privacy. I keep Notification Centre, Control Centre and Return Missed Call active myself. I do limit the number of apps that can send me Lockscreen Notifications.
Maximize privacy by disabling Show Previews for any app notifications so your communications wont appear on the lock screen.
Finally, why not reduce the auto-lock time to 30 seconds in Settings> Display & Brightness> Auto-Lock?
Also Check: Imessage Pool Game
Disable Notifications From Messaging Apps
Before we disabled the preview so that in case someone takes a glimpse on your iPhone, they wonât be able to deduct what the message means.
However, it still doesnât change the fact that they knew someone messaged you.
So to make sure they wonât have any idea about the message from the beginning, you have to follow these steps: