As the coronavirus has forced much of the world to stay home for an extended period of time, many have turned to Facebook to stay connected with friends and family. However, experts are warning against the dangers of oversharing on the social media platform.
“We cannot go out and socialize during this pandemic, so people are turning to social media to share what is going on with their lives, but it can be risky,” University of Missouri computer science professor Dan Lin said.
According to Lin, some of those risks include online games that prompt you to answer personal questions about yourself, and sharing personal photos. For instance, Lin says that sharing pictures for Mother’s Day could put family members at risk if the photo revealed that they lived alone, or betrayed other identifying information about their location. Lin also said that before you post a photo to social media, you should first check its metadata to make sure no location info is included. Online games, quizzes and challenges often ask you to share information about you that could be exploited by cyber criminals.
For as much as Facebook needs to improve its security measures for users, it’s ultimately up to each of us to protect ourselves online. Make sure your privacy settings are as strong as you can make them — and if you truly want to keep your content safe, consider not posting it at all.
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