Protect Yourself from Facebook's Graph Search by Kim Komando ~ High Tech House Calls

Sunday, July 14, 2013

Protect Yourself from Facebook's Graph Search by Kim Komando

8:13 PM High Tech House Calls, Expert Computer Consulting

You probably heard me mention it back in January. It's been in limited testing for months, but it finally started hitting regular profiles earlier this week.

At its most basic, Graph Search makes it easier to find things on Facebook. Want to pull up that funny picture your friend shared months ago? Don't go scrolling through your history, type "photos from Jane" in the search bar.

Of course, being a new feature it takes a little while to figure out. What's scary is that while you're figuring Graph Search out, some people are already exploiting it. Total strangers can use this new tool to see your pictures, profile and your personal details.

There's no need to fear, though. I can show you how to use this new feature and still protect your privacy.

Let's start with what Graph Search actually does. It combines Facebook's traditional search with keywords and conversational search pegs. Pegs are the words you usually don't use in a regular search, like "the," "in" or "near".

That means you do more in-depth searches to find people or businesses that meet certain criteria. For example, you could search for "people who live in Chicago and like fishing" or "restaurants my friends like that deliver." Facebook will return pages that fit those descriptions.

You can get even deeper in your searches, too. You could search for "friends of friends who live nearby and like wine" or "photos taken last month in Miami." Facebook will return anything it finds that matches those keywords.

That sounds harmless, but it can actually be embarrassing or dangerous. For example, Graph Search will pull up photos from total strangers. That means a total stranger could be looking at your photos.

That's not even mentioning what your boss might find. Say you posted about taking a fake sick day. Or you liked a page about drinking at work.

If your boss types in something like "co-workers who like taking fake sick days" or "co-workers who like drinking on the job," your name might pop up! I'm not kidding.

That's not even mentioning what your boss might find. Say you posted about taking a fake sick day. Or you liked a page about drinking at work.

If your boss types in something like "co-workers who like taking fake sick days" or "co-workers who like drinking on the job," your name might pop up! I'm not kidding.

Searches can even be as specific as "women who live nearby and who are interested in men and like getting drunk." It's a stalker's dream come true.

So, how does Facebook know what results to give? It scans your Likes, group history, posts and comments, photo tags, location data and more. Everything you put up on Facebook is analyzed for searching.

That's why your privacy settings are critical. If your information is public, Facebook will send it to anyone, even if they're not your friends. However, anything you have set to Friends or Only Me won't go beyond your friends.

That means it's a good time to revisit your Facebook privacy settings. You definitely don't want your private information ending up in some random person's search. Even information you've posted publicly in the past might look bad in the wrong context.

Start by clicking the padlock icon at the top right of your Facebook page. This brings up Facebook's Privacy Shortcuts.

Click "Who can see my stuff" and make sure "Who can see my future posts?" is set to Friends.

Then below that click the "Use Activity Log" link. This shows you everything you've posted and anything that has been posted about you.

Search for posts, groups or Likes you've made that could embarrass you or offend someone. You should keep an eye out for anything that reveals your personal information, too. Click the audience selector icon next to these and change them to "Friends" or "Only Me."

On the left, you can select ways to view your information. Go through "Posts You're Tagged in," "Posts by Others," "Photos" and "Likes."

Under "Comments," click More to find the "Groups" section. These will have the most incriminating information because group posts are public by default.

To remove yourself from a questionable group, visit the group's page. Click the gear icon in the top-right and select "Leave group."

This will keep most of your private info safe from Graph Search. It's not a bad idea to tighten your security throughout Facebook, though. For more privacy settings to check, check out this must-read column.

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