Facebook, the colossal social media platform, now boasts 1.7 billion active monthly users, with over a billion accessing daily via mobile interfaces. Meanwhile, Americans alone spend an impressive average of 40 minutes on the site each day, while users across Facebook’s various apps spend an additional collective 50 minutes. This means the average Facebook user devotes roughly 20 minutes solely to the site daily – a testament to Facebook’s successful user engagement strategies.
Over the years, Facebook has seamlessly morphed into a dynamic business platform, driving thousands of page views via simple advertising strategies. Consequently, this evolution has bolstered Facebook’s dominance in the digital advertising market, securing it a whopping 12 percent global share in 2021 – second only to Google’s formidable 31 percent.
However, despite the deluge of services and benefits offered on the platform, careful management of your shared information remains crucial. After all, in this digital age, prying eyes are inevitable. A case in point – a house robbery in Nigeria was reportedly orchestrated following a Facebook post from the victim which indicated they were on holiday.
In light of such threats, Inc, a prominent business website, offers valuable suggestions regarding prospective Facebook settings which users should consider activating or deactivating. Here’s the lineup:
1. **Exclude certain people from viewing your posts:** You can flexibly restrict selected individuals from seeing your posts. This is particularly useful when you wish to post personal matters without involving all your friends or professional contacts.
***Activation guide:*** Facebook app > Start a post > Dropdown menu below your name (starts with Friends) > Friends except > Add the contacts you wish to exclude from viewing this post.
2. **Prevent auto-play videos in your feed:** Among other benefits, this setting saves you from embarrassing moments – nobody wants a video blaring kitten meows during an important meeting!
***Activation guide:*** Facebook app > More > Settings > Account Settings > Videos and Photos > Auto-play > Set to ‘Never Autoplay Videos’.
3. **Convert your relationship status discreetly:** You no longer need to broadcast your relationship status to everyone. Enjoy the discretion made possible by altering your relationship status visibility.
***Activation guide:*** Your profile in the app > About > Relationship > Small button on the bottom left with silhouettes > Change to ‘Only Me’ and then update your status.
4. **Guide pronunciation of your name:** Surely you’re tired of people mispronouncing your name! Facebook features can instruct friends on proper pronunciation.
***Activation guide:*** Profile page in-app > Edit info > Scroll down to ‘+ How do you pronounce your name?’.
5. **Read messages without sight acknowledgment:** At times, we don’t want people to know when or if we’ve read their messages. While Facebook mobile doesn’t support this, alternatives are available for desktop versions.
***Activation guide (for Chrome users):*** Download the extension ‘Unseen for Facebook’. For users with Firefox and/or Internet Explorer, ‘Chat Undetected’ is recommended.
6. **Export birthdays to your calendar:** This useful feature allows you to have all your Facebook contacts’ birthdays right at your fingertips, without the need to log in to Facebook every day.
***Activation guide (best from desktop version):*** Facebook Homepage > Events > Scroll down to ‘You can add your events to Microsoft Outlook, Google Calendar, or Apple Calendar.’ > Click ‘Birthdays’ and open your preferred Calendar > Add calendar by URL and paste the copied URL into the field.
7. **Safeguard articles for later:** This handy feature lets you save articles that you stumble upon in your feed but don’t have time to read.
***Activation guide:*** Click the ‘Share’ button on the article > Select ‘Save Link’. Access these saved articles from your desktop under the ‘Saved’ tab in the left-hand navigation, or on mobile under ‘More’ > ‘Saved’.
These are just some tips to enhance your Facebook experience in a balanced and secure manner. Stay connected while keeping personal data safe and maintaining control over what you share. Remember, when it comes to social media, you should be in control. Happy browsing!
Paul Balo is the founder of TechBooky and a highly skilled wireless communications professional with a strong background in cloud computing, offering extensive experience in designing, implementing, and managing wireless communication systems.
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