TMI: Too Much Information - Facebook Class

What's free, informative and fabulous?  - our next Facebook Class, to be held on Friday June 6, 2014 from 12 - 1 in our beautiful Smart Lab.

We'll show you how you can sign up if you're new to the game.  For regular users, we'll talk about managing your privacy settings, and take your questions.  (If your questions are not answerable in the time we have allotted for class, we'll even email you later!)

Here's a recent issue I was asked about:

"I don't want to include my birth year on my Facebook page but it somehow appears on my Timeline and is visible for my Friends to see. Help!"

Here's how to keep your day and month available (so that you get birthday greetings!), but bypass the inclusion of your birth year in your profile (some things are best left private, after all!):

1. Log in to your account.
2. Click on your Name in the upper left hand corner
3. Click on the Update Info button to the right of your name.
4. Click on the About tab.
5. Locate the Basic Information box.
6. Hover over your birth year until you see the Edit button and then click it.
7. Click on the down arrow to the right of the year.
A dialog box appears with the following choices:
   
     Public
     Friends
     Friends Except Acquaintances
     Only Me
     Family

8. Check mark next to Only Me.
9. Click Save Changes button.

Now, to check and make sure that you have implemented the change you wanted, hover your mouse over your birth year in the Basic Information box.  Point the cursor over the lock icon.  "Only Me" should pop up.  If so, congratulations!  You have successfully hidden your birth year information.

Here's something that perhaps you didn't know:  if you would like to keep your information private from apps (like games) your friends  may use on Facebook, follow these steps as well. (Yes, your information may be shared through the games that your friends play even without you using those games yourself.)

1.  Log in.
2.  Click on the down arrow on the uppermost top right of your page.
3.  Click on Settings in the drop down.
4.  Click on Apps in the left menu bar.
5.  Find the "Apps others use" section and click on Edit.
6.  Uncheck all boxes.
7.  Click the Save Changes button.

That's it!

(Note that the above steps are for using a PC, you will have to modify somewhat for mobile devices.)

Facebook Class will be held in the Smart Lab, right next to Meeting Room A/B in the South Brunswick Public Library.  Hope to see you there!

Diane Whitman
Twitter @whitlibrarian
Reference Librarian
Technology Instructor