How to Change Social Media Privacy Settings: A Complete Platform-by-Platform Guide for 2026

Why Your Social Media Privacy Settings Need Your Attention Right Now

When you sign up for a social media account, the default settings are almost never set to protect your privacy. They are set to maximise the platform's reach, advertising revenue, and data collection. According to a 2024 Pew Research Center report, 81% of Americans feel they have little or no control over the data companies collect about them. An Ofcom study from 2025 found that 63% of UK adults had never reviewed the privacy settings on their most-used social media platform.

The good news is that learning how to change social media privacy settings is not difficult. It takes about 20 minutes per platform, and once you have done it, you only need a quick check-up every few months. This guide covers every major platform, setting by setting.

Understanding Why Defaults Are Set to Share

Social media companies generate revenue primarily through targeted advertising. The more data they collect about your behaviour, interests, location, and connections, the more precisely they can target adverts. A 2025 Electronic Frontier Foundation analysis found that the average social media user has over 2,700 data points collected about them within the first year of account creation.

When you first create an account, the platform has a financial incentive to make your profile as visible as possible. None of this is hidden, but it is buried in menus that most people never explore. Privacy on social media is something you actively choose, not something you are given.

Facebook and Meta: Locking Down the Largest Network

Who Can See Your Posts and Profile

Facebook remains the most widely used social platform among UK adults over 30, and it also holds the most personal data for long-term users. Start by opening Settings and Privacy, then selecting Privacy Centre. From here, you can control the audience for your future posts. Change this from Public to Friends, or even Friends except acquaintances if you want a tighter circle.

Next, review 'Who can see your friends list' and set it to Only Me or Friends. Under 'Who can look you up using the email address or phone number you provided,' change both from Everyone to Friends or Friends of Friends. This single change significantly reduces your exposure to spam and phishing.

Search Engine Visibility and Facial Recognition

One setting many people miss is 'Do you want search engines outside of Facebook to link to your profile?' If you turn this off, your profile will not appear when someone searches your name on Google. For most people, there is no good reason to leave this enabled.

Facebook has scaled back its facial recognition features following regulatory pressure, but check under Face Recognition Settings to ensure the platform is not automatically identifying you in photos uploaded by others.

Ad Personalisation

Navigate to Ad Preferences under Settings. Here you can review the interest categories Facebook has assigned to you, which often number in the hundreds. You can remove individual interests or turn off ad personalisation based on your activity on other websites. While this will not eliminate adverts, it reduces the amount of behavioural tracking used to target them.

Instagram: Tightening a Visual Platform

Account Privacy and Story Controls

Instagram defaults to a public account for anyone over 18. Switching to a private account is the single most impactful change you can make. Go to Settings, then Privacy, then Account Privacy, and toggle Private Account on. This means only approved followers can see your posts, stories, and reels.

Even with a private account, stories have their own sharing controls. Under Story settings, you can hide your stories from specific followers, disable sharing of your stories to messages, and control who can reply.

Restricting Messages and Interactions

Under Privacy, then Messages, you can control who can send you direct messages. For younger users especially, setting this to 'People you follow' dramatically reduces unwanted contact. Instagram also allows you to restrict accounts without blocking them, meaning their comments on your posts will only be visible to them.

Activity Status and Data Sharing

Turn off Activity Status under Privacy to prevent others from seeing when you were last online. Under Account, then Linked Accounts, review any third-party apps connected to your Instagram. Remove anything you no longer use. Each connected app is a potential access point to your data.

TikTok: Privacy on the Fastest-Growing Platform

Account Settings for All Ages

TikTok has made significant changes to its privacy defaults for younger users following regulatory action in multiple countries. In the UK, accounts belonging to users aged 13 to 15 are now set to private by default, and direct messaging is disabled. Users aged 16 and 17 have direct messaging enabled but only from friends by default.

For adults, however, TikTok still defaults to a public account. To change this, go to Settings and Privacy, then Privacy, and toggle Private Account on. This means only approved followers can see your videos. You should also set 'Who can send you direct messages' to Friends or Nobody, and 'Who can Duet with your videos' to Friends or Off.

Location and Search Visibility

TikTok collects location data by default if you grant permission. On your phone's settings, change TikTok's location access to Never or While Using the App. Within TikTok, go to Privacy and disable 'Suggest your account to others,' which uses your phone contacts to recommend your profile.

A detail many users miss: even with a private account, your profile name and bio remain visible to everyone. Avoid including your school, workplace, or location in your bio.

X (Formerly Twitter): Managing an Open Platform

Protecting Your Posts

X is built around public conversation, so its default settings are the most open of any major platform. If you want your posts visible only to followers, enable 'Protect your posts' under Settings, Privacy and Safety, then Audience and Tagging. Be aware that this is an all-or-nothing setting; you cannot make individual posts public while your account is protected.

Discoverability and Data Controls

Under Privacy and Safety, disable 'Let others find you by your email address' and 'Let others find you by your phone number.' These settings, when left on, allow anyone who has your contact details to find your X account, which can be a genuine safety concern for people who use the platform pseudonymously.

X offers a data download feature under Your Account, then Download an Archive of Your Data. It shows every advert you have interacted with, every interest the platform has inferred, and every device you have logged in from. Use this to clean up your ad personalisation settings and revoke access from unfamiliar devices.

Direct Messages

Under Privacy and Safety, then Direct Messages, disable 'Allow message requests from everyone.' This is particularly important for users with public accounts, as open DMs are a common vector for spam, phishing, and harassment. Set this to only allow messages from people you follow.

Snapchat: Privacy Beyond Disappearing Messages

Who Can Contact You and See Your Location

Snapchat's appeal lies in its ephemeral messaging, but privacy on the platform goes well beyond disappearing snaps. Open Settings, then Privacy Controls. Set 'Who can contact me' to My Friends rather than Everyone. Set 'Who can view my Story' to My Friends or a custom list.

The most critical setting on Snapchat is Snap Map, which can share your precise location with friends every time you open the app. Go to Snap Map, tap the settings cog, and enable Ghost Mode (which hides your location entirely) or limit sharing to a select list. For younger users, Ghost Mode should be considered essential.

Quick Add and Phone Permissions

Disable 'Show me in Quick Add' under Privacy Controls. Quick Add suggests your profile to friends of friends and people with your phone number, meaning strangers who share mutual friends can find you. On your phone, review the permissions you have granted Snapchat and only grant what is strictly necessary for the features you actually use.

LinkedIn: Professional Does Not Mean Public

Profile Visibility and Connection Settings

LinkedIn occupies an unusual position because professional visibility is often the whole point. However, there are still settings worth adjusting. Under Settings, then Visibility, you can control who sees your email address, whether your profile appears in search engine results, and who can see your connections list.

For young professionals building a network, showing your connections list publicly can actually work against you by revealing the size and nature of your network to competitors or unwanted recruiters. Set 'Who can see your connections' to Only You.

Activity Broadcasts and Data Privacy

Under Visibility, toggle off 'Share profile updates with your network' if you do not want connections notified every time you change your headline or add a role. Many people inadvertently broadcast every profile tweak to their entire network.

Under Data Privacy, review and disable 'Social, economic, and workplace research' and 'Ad-related actions.' Under Partners and Services, review any third-party apps you have connected, particularly old recruitment tools or CRM platforms you no longer use.

YouTube: The Overlooked Privacy Settings

Channel and Watch History

YouTube is often forgotten in privacy discussions because people think of it as a viewing platform rather than a social network. However, if you have a Google account, you have a YouTube profile. Under Settings, then Privacy, you can control whether your liked videos, saved playlists, and subscriptions are visible to others. Set all of these to private unless you have a specific reason to share them.

Watch and Search History

Your YouTube watch and search history feed Google's advertising algorithms across all its products. Under My Google Activity, you can pause both and set data to auto-delete after 3, 18, or 36 months. The 3 month option is a sensible balance between personalised recommendations and data minimisation.

Comments and Community Visibility

If you comment on YouTube videos, your channel name and profile picture are visible alongside your comment. For users who prefer anonymity, consider using a channel name that does not include your real name.

How to Audit What You Have Already Shared

Changing your settings going forward is essential, but it is equally important to review what you have already shared.

On Facebook, use the Activity Log to review every post, comment, and reaction. Facebook also offers a 'Limit Past Posts' tool that changes all previous public posts to Friends Only in one step. On Instagram, go to Your Activity to review and bulk-delete old posts, stories, and comments. On TikTok, review your liked videos (which may be public by default). On X, third-party services allow you to remove old posts based on age or engagement thresholds.

A useful exercise is to search for yourself on Google using your full name, email address, and common usernames. The results may reveal public profiles or data broker listings you had forgotten about.

Age-Specific Privacy Advice

Teens on TikTok and Snapchat (13 to 17)

For younger users, the priority is limiting contact from strangers and controlling location sharing. On TikTok, accounts for users under 16 should remain private with direct messaging disabled. On Snapchat, Ghost Mode should be enabled permanently. Teens should be encouraged to review their followers list regularly and remove anyone they do not know in real life.

A private account still means that approved followers can screenshot, screen-record, and share content. According to a 2024 UK Safer Internet Centre survey, 38% of 13 to 17 year olds reported that content they shared privately was later shared without their permission. Settings are a first line of defence, not a guarantee.

Older Adults on Facebook (55 and Over)

This age group is disproportionately targeted by scams and phishing on Facebook. According to Age UK, adults over 55 lost an estimated £2.1 billion to online fraud in 2024, with social media being a leading entry point. Key priorities include setting posts to Friends Only, disabling search engine visibility, and being cautious about accepting friend requests from unfamiliar accounts.

The 'Limit Past Posts' tool is especially valuable for long-term users who may have years of public posts. Two-factor authentication should be enabled under Security and Login to protect against account takeover.

Young Professionals on LinkedIn (18 to 30)

For people building a career, LinkedIn visibility is often desirable, but it should be intentional. Set email visibility to first-degree connections only. Disable activity broadcasts while updating your profile to avoid signalling to your current employer that you may be job hunting.

Checking Third-Party App Permissions

Over the years, you may have used your social media accounts to log into other services, games, quizzes, or apps. Each of these connections grants some level of access to your profile data, and many persist long after you have stopped using the app in question.

The Cambridge Analytica scandal demonstrated this risk at scale, when a single quiz app accessed data from 87 million Facebook profiles. Platforms have tightened their policies since then, but third-party permissions remain a significant concern.

Here is where to check on each platform. On Facebook, go to Settings, then Apps and Websites, and remove anything you do not actively use. On Instagram, go to Settings, then Security, then Apps and Websites. On X, go to Settings, then Security and Account Access, then Apps and Sessions. On LinkedIn, go to Settings, then Data Privacy, then Permitted Services. On Google (which covers YouTube), go to myaccount.google.com, then Security, then Third-party apps with account access.

It is common to find dozens of connected apps, many of which you will not recognise. Remove everything that is not essential; you can always reconnect a service later.

Building a Regular Privacy Check-Up Schedule

Privacy is not a one-time task. Platforms update their settings and sometimes reset preferences after major updates. Set a quarterly reminder to spend 15 minutes reviewing your settings. Here is a checklist to follow.

Every three months: Review who can see your posts and profile on each platform. Check for unfamiliar third-party app connections. Review your followers list for accounts you no longer recognise.

Every six months: Search for yourself on Google. Download your data archive from at least one platform. Review ad personalisation preferences. Check that two-factor authentication is enabled on all accounts.

Once a year: Consider whether you still need all the accounts you have. Deactivating unused accounts reduces your digital footprint. Review settings on any new platforms you have joined. Update recovery email and phone number on each account.

Once your initial settings are configured properly, the quarterly checks take very little time. Think of it like changing the batteries in a smoke alarm: a small effort that makes a meaningful difference.

Final Thoughts on Taking Control of Your Privacy

Learning how to change social media privacy settings is one of the most practical steps you can take for your digital wellbeing. It does not require technical expertise. It simply means making deliberate choices about who sees your information and how it is used.

Platforms will continue to evolve, and new settings will appear as regulations like the UK Online Safety Act and the EU Digital Services Act push for greater user control. No single setting provides complete protection. Privacy is a combination of the technical controls you enable, the information you choose to share, and the habits you develop over time. Start with the platform you use most, work through this guide, and build from there. Twenty minutes today can save you significant headaches in the future.