Facebook privacy

PunkRoquefort

I have opened a facebook account, hiding my birthday and other info from view of others, no picture and choosing the options which prevent other people sending me friend requests etc.

I have joined in businesses live videos and reels and commented on them, which show on the screen, but not on my profile. My profile has a shortened version of my name and I have chosen not to let Facebook link my contacts to my account.

How do I prevent other people, including friends, from knowing my profile is mine and can they do any kind of searching to see which live videos/reels I have commented on?

I simply want my profile to be as low key as possible, as I had one before and received friend requests from people I knew and also complete strangers. I also want my Facebook viewing to be between myself and the companies who's content I view, not for all to see. Basically, keeping things as simple as possible.

Neil_Jones

Short of legally changing your name and using that on Facebook there won't be anything to stop other people sending you friend requests. There's no obligation to respond to any of these requests, so if you want to be friendless on Facebook that's up to you.

Suggest you have a shufty in the settings for Facebook and change what you can to "Only me" or friends of friends. That's about all you can do. And don't use anything identifiable as your profile picture either - you, your family, the cat, your front door (its amazing how many people harp on about privacy on Facebook and ironically they've got a picture of their 10 year old standing outside the house with the house number on it in one photo and the street name in the next one)…

PunkRoquefort

I have no identifiable info on my profile and have all settings to 'only me' or 'friends of friends'.

Are people able to do a search and see what vodeos, reels etc. I have commented on or asked info on?

oldernonethewiser

People can look at pictures and videos on FB then read the comments.

If you have submitted a comment then it will be there. It may not of course be traceable back to your real identity,

Ideally don't use Facebook which solves the issue.

Baldytyke88

My Facebook is totally open, but with a false DOB. I use my real name, I guess that is the key if you want to remain anonymous, use a fake name.

Wonka_2

You can rest assured that the algorithm will end up with you in the ‘people you may know’ feed of some of your contacts -whether that’s from shared interests or your viewing of others profiles.

As long as you’ve locked your profile as much as you can e.g no friend requests etc and you’re not identifiable as you then you should be fairly safe.

But then that all depends on the content you’re viewing/commenting on - we have a local ‘character’ with some interesting political views who doesn’t seem to have realised that their multiple FB accounts have been identified - it’ll make for an interesting Christmas night out in the local pub 🤣🤣

Frozen_up_north

There is no privacy with Facebook, you need to read the book "Careless People" by Sarah Wynn-Williams. And also check news items relating to American voters and Facebook.

Like many, I would not touch Facebook with a bargepole.

elsien

I use a variation of my name on Facebook, not my full correct name. I only post in specific private groups. I don’t put anything on my timeline. It’s locked down to avoid other people seeing my information as far as possible. I get random friend requests which I ignore because I have left it open for some people to make friends requests or send messages such as when I use marketplace.

But FB still tracks you and it still shows you people you might know - some of which I have no clue who they are and others are indeed family and friends. Probably because at some point I have looked at their profile even though I haven’t interacted with it. Presumably they do the same to other people so your profile might be similarly ending up with people that you know.

I think the only way round it is to have a completely fake identity or don’t use Facebook.

PunkRoquefort

This is an example of what I am asking.

I have made sure the only identifiable thing on my profile is a shortened version of my name. Viewing my own profile in 'as public' mode does not let anyone see any other information.

Today, I joined a live video of a business, not in our area, but asked about a product they were displaying. Naturally, my facebook name appears. Am I correct in saying my friends will be unable to know this activity, unless they went back to the stream, played it and noticed my question show on the recording? I am considering buying a surprise present and want it to renain a surprise.

In other words, is there a way that someone who sees my profile can then search for the streams/live reels I have participated in?

rollingmoon

'Facebook privacy' is an oxymoron. If you are genuinely worried about privacy then my advice is to simply leave the platform.

PunkRoquefort

I left it several days ago and deleted the profile.